Captive
by roswellwbfan
Summary: DannyLindsay smut. Phonesex. My reviewers ROCK, and they rock hard! Be patient with the first few chapters. In my world we build up to the copious amounts of smut. Spoilers: Call it through season two.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. You are the reason.

Disclaimer: I do not own what is not mine.

Spoilers: Through Season Two.

­On with the story

* * *

She paced back and forth in the tiny space; feeling more claustrophobic with every second that passed. Clutching the ragged quilt closer to her shivering body she tried hard to breathe normally, as normally as her chattering teeth would allow, anyway, and struggled harder not to panic.

No, panic would not be good here. Panic would be all forms of bad. Not that there was no reason to panic…oh, there were plenty of reasons. She listed them in her mind: one—captured by a psychopath; two—locked in a small cell; three—growing colder by the minute; four—no one had any idea where she was; and five—she was dressed completely inappropriately.

_Was there in fact a dress code for people in her situation?_ She wondered but knew that jeans, heels, a tank top and a zippered pullover were not going to cut it forever.

It was exactly the kind of thing her great-grandmother had been so concerned about when she heard the news of Lindsay moving to New York. Hopefully when (_or would that be if?_ her worried brain piped up to question) her cold decomposed carcass was found they would concoct a story that wouldn't make her Gramma Rose (as Lindsay affectionately referred to her) too upset. Perhaps they'd say that Lindsay had really been craving some ice cream and had gotten trapped in a freezer.

Maybe she was being a pessimist, though. Maybe she should look for some positive things about this…well…that could be pushing it. Perhaps instead she should think of some ways that this could suck more.

Ah, here was a delightful train of thought she could pursue.

It could be completely dark…

She could have been left without the quilt...

It could have been summer and she'd have been wearing less than her current outfit…

She could be trapped in here with a bunch of bugs...

She could be tied up...

The psycho could be with her...

Instead of heat disappearing, it could be the oxygen…

Feeling her heart pound at these imagined scenarios she suddenly stopped and took a deep icy breath.

Okay…so there were apparently lots of ways this could be worse. After she congratulated herself on finding them she vowed to stop thinking of more, and then set about looking around once again for a way out. The vent through which the arctic air was being pumped in was too small for her to climb out, and there were no windows. The door had electronically sealed behind her and she couldn't detect any loose floorboards or cracks in the wall to work on.

"Lindsay?"

She stiffened and searched for the source of the disembodied voice. It could not be a good sign that insanity had set in this early. At least, she _thought_ it was still too early. Maybe she'd been there for longer than she'd realized. She must be insane, for the voice sounded like Mac's.

"Lindsay?"

And now she was hearing Stella. Great, next thing you knew she'd be hearing—

"Montana?"

"Danny?" she answered before thinking about the possible implications of responding to intangible voices.

"She can hear us!" she heard him exclaim and then she picked up what sounded like a shuffle.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes. She squeezed her eyelids shut and sent a quick prayer of thanks heavenward.

"Lindsay? We're here," Mac's voice called out.

"Super," she nodded, "where's here?"

There was a moment of silence.

"We're not really sure where you are, exactly, but we're all here at the lab."

"Who's we? And how can I hear you? And is there any chance of getting some heat?"

One by one Flack, Stella, Danny, Mac, and Hawkes said hello, though Danny could not pass up the opportunity to tease her instead.

"You look like Nanook of the North wrapped up like that, Monroe."

"Funny, Messer. Wait—you can see me?"

Mac's voice came back.

"Well, we received this laptop via courier and when we booted it up your image was on screen, along with a message from the kidnapper. There's got to be a camera somewhere around you, as well as speakers and a mic."

Lindsay was already shaking her head before he finished speaking.

"I've looked all over this place for a way to get out, and I didn't come across anything like that. But then again, I wasn't looking for it. Anyway, I sure hope you guys got a plan to get me out of here…and unless it's really fascinating I'd rather not hear the psycho's message, if it's all the same."

She could hear faint chuckles and she felt marginally better. Her team was on the case…they'd find her.

"Yes, we have a plan. Our IT guys are tracing this web feed now, and we should get your location pinpointed soon, but it's going to take a while to track the code he's using. He's bouncing the feed across different servers and until we can figure out how he's doing that we can't trace it backward as quickly as we'd like."

"Okay," she sighed dejectedly, realizing she could very well freeze to death before it happened. Just thinking it made her shudder and burrow deeper into the quilt.

"Hey, don't get discouraged. We're all going to go and track different leads…the message and the possible sender could lead us to you before the IT team does. But one of us will stay behind to keep you company and make sure you're okay, all right?"

She nodded and didn't even think before making her request.

"Could it be Danny?"

Outwardly he showed no signs of emotion when every head in the room swiveled to his after her decision. He simply nodded and took off his coat while Mac got up and moved out of the chair. Inwardly, though, he was confused as hell. He would have thought she'd have picked Stella, or Mac, hell—anyone but him. Not that they weren't friends. Truth was they got along as well or better than most of the people at the lab. If you considered merciless teasing and flirting getting along…and Danny did.

No, he had figured it was because they were friends that she wouldn't want him to see her as vulnerable as she was. God knew he had counted his blessings when he had been trapped in the panic room that Lindsay was nowhere near him. Although he'd been touched when he heard from Mac how worried she'd been about him. There had been much teasing on his part and blushing on hers when he saw her again after that incident.

Flack, Mac, Stella and Hawkes said goodbye to Lindsay and nodded to Danny, promising to check in with updates. As soon as the door closed behind his colleagues Danny decided to get the ball rolling and cut to the chase.

"Why me?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Because you distract me."

"I distract you?" he said, and Lindsay swore she could hear him leering at her. She laughed.

"Did I say that you distracted me in a good way? Anyway, I need to take my mind off being here," she waved her hand around the room, "and all this. Plus, you've been in a similar situation before and I thought you could help me get through it."

He licked his lips and sighed. Being stuck in the panic room was not a situation he ever wanted to relive, but if it meant helping her out then he supposed he could suck it up. Plus, she'd owe him, and he was bound to at least get some extra teasing out of that. _Maybe something else, too_…but he shook his head to clear it of that train of thought and refocused.

"Well, distractions are a must. You, of course, do not have a corpse or an irritatin' brother to serve as ways to keep your mind occupied," he began.

"Aww, I'd take you over those any day," she teased, though the effect was diminished by her teeth knocking together.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Montana. The one thing I tried to do above everything else was to think of cold things. Now then, since you're freezin' your ass off it's important to try and think of hot things. Can you do that?"

There was a pause after she closed her eyes and Danny was convinced she'd fallen asleep or worse and was about to say something else when she spoke.

"Your glasses."

"_Excuse_ me?"

If Lindsay picked up on the shock in his voice she ignored it.

"Some of the women in the break room the other day were talking about guys in glasses, and wondering why they don't just get contacts or lasik. And I said that I totally have a thing for guys in glasses."

That made Danny sit a little straighter in his chair.

"Oh—do you now?"

"Mmm," she mused, indulging in thoughts of Clark Kent, Peter Parker, and Danny Messer for a moment and ignoring the inevitable teasing she was about to receive as a result of her declaration.

"Well I gotta be honest, Monroe. I was in fact gonna to suggest you think of me first and foremost, but you know how modest I am."


	2. Chapter 2

Spoilers: Season Two.

Disclaimer: Own what I do, not what I don't.

Author's note: Thanks so much to those that have read and reviewed. I really appreciate it. And thanks, scoj, for reviewing.

* * *

_______________________________________________________________________

On with the chapter…

She snorted.

"Oh yeah, humble pie's on your plate every meal."

"Glad you noticed. So…any other attributes of mine you wish to express a particular fondness for?"

She chuckled but nonetheless mentally went through a list of things she would have to include on a list of that nature. After his glasses it was probably a tie between his eyes and voice. Oh man, that accent got to her every single time. And his smile? Gah!

She shook her head to clear it of thoughts of like those. It was hard not to have a tiny crush on her co-worker. Especially once they became friends and she got to know the man behind the exterior, it was all too easy to be drawn to his dedication, loyalty, and that sharp sense of humor that never failed to amuse her…even if it was all-too-often at her expense.

Suddenly out of nowhere she remembered it was Friday night, and more likely than not Danny had been on a date when Mac called him in. The thought nearly put her in tears.

"Oh, Danny. I messed up your plans with Cindy for tonight, didn't I? I shouldn't have asked you to stay. You probably have other stuff to do. I'm sorry, you should go. I'll be all right."

If Danny was shocked by her admission that she found his glasses sexy, it was nothing compared to the astonishment that pronouncement left him feeling. He recognized if he didn't speak up and quell her fears she was going to shut down and possibly stop responding.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where is this comin' from? First of all, I'm not with Cindy anymore. More importantly, I don't have anywhere else I gotta be, no place else I wanna be, either, okay? Now can I please focus on gettin' you hot?"

There was a pause, and then Lindsay laughed as hard as she could. Danny was glad she couldn't see him, as she would undoubtedly find even more humor in the blush that now infused his cheeks. He struggled to find something to say, but Lindsay spoke up before he could retract the statement or change the subject.

"Yeah, like that'll happen," she scoffed.

His pride demanded that he respond to this obvious challenge to his masculinity.

"You doubtin' my abilities, Montana?"

"Absolutely."

And damn if he didn't like her more for daring to give that answer instead of placating him with blatantly false and patronizing assurances. Their teasing was already the highlight of his day, but the opportunity to turn it blatantly sexual was without a doubt going to make his year.

"Are you sure you want to go there, Monroe?"

His voice had dropped about an octave and if Lindsay hadn't already been shivering she would have gotten the chills from the ripple it sent over her skin.

"'Cause I gotta be honest…I'm not too confident about your ability to handle it."

She bit her lip, uncertain for a moment whether this really _was_ a good idea. The cold had definitely seeped into her brain; otherwise she would never have invited this topic into their conversation. She thought for a moment that she would have been better off letting his slip of the tongue pass instead of taking the chance it offered to tease him.

And though she'd never admit it, she too doubted her ability to handle it. There had already been times when he said or did things that turned her on without him even realizing it. It was absolutely playing with fire to put herself in a position where he was actually trying. If he succeeded she'd never hear the end of it…or be able to look at him again.

On the other hand, she'd be alive, and would have tons of delicious images that would unquestionably turn into fantastic dreams and highly inappropriate musings during free moments at work.

Of course this whole thing depended on his ability to deliver. She almost laughed aloud. Somehow she knew he would not have any problems in that area, though. And the prospect of him turning the charm on her was just too once-in-a-lifetime to pass up.

Realizing she'd left him waiting for a little bit she decided to just roll her eyes and answer with every ounce of false bravado she could muster.

"Please. I'd like to see you try," she scoffed.

Part of him was surprised. He'd taken her silence as one that would lead to her refusal to follow through. The rest of him was impressed…her willingness to stand her ground was actually really attractive.

"I'm impressed," he told her with a smile he belatedly realized she couldn't see.

He shook his head and blew out a long breath.

"Okay then, here we go."

Before he started speaking he saw her mouth something.

"What was that, Montana? I didn't catch that."

She tilted her head and mouthed it again, this time pointing behind her to the vent. It took him a moment to understand that she was speaking, he just couldn't hear her. And from her pointing it was probably a safe bet that she was trying to tell him that the cold air had kicked on again, or higher, or something.

"Hey, Montana? I can't hear you anymore. Can you hear me?"

She nodded.

"Okay, it's probably the cold; it's affectin' the cables or somethin'."

She nodded again, a bit more slowly and looked up at the lights. He realized that he should tell her that when she looked up and was turned the way she was, he could see the front of her.

"Hey, Monroe. It seems like the camera at least is up near whatever you just looked at. And I can see the front of you now."

She waved up at him then stuck her tongue out.

"Cute."

He sat back in the chair for a moment, thinking about what he was going to tell her.

Actually, this whole non-speaker thing was going to make this whole challenge that much easier to fulfill, he thought. He could pretty much pretend she wasn't there and just detail a fantasy to her. If she was still willing, that is. She was looking a bit nervous and he decided he should check in on her.

"Montana…you still want me—" he waited until her lips had begun to curve up before he continued "to get you hot?"

He could see her laughing and it made him smile. She stopped laughing and smiled, then tilted her head up and slowly mouthed the words "_Yes I want you_."

He chuckled and could see her shoulders shake anew.

"I wish I could say I was surprised, Montana. I wish I could."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey guys! Just a quick thanks to danielle and scoj, I couldn't reply to their reviews offline so thank you, guys. Btw, if I forget to send you a reply to your chapter by the time the next chapter is out let me know. I try hard to stay on top of them and I don't want to leave anyone out.

Spoilers: All eppys, to be safe

Disclaimer: Entertainment purposes, don't own anything I shouldn't.

On with the chapter…

* * *

Lindsay chuckled and clutched the blanket tighter. She loved teasing Danny, and having Danny tease her was equally amusing, and their verbal jousting never failed to warm her up. She shivered as a wave of air hit her and she burrowed deeper into the blanket.

Danny watched her tighten up and he saw the inspiration for his fantasy in her movements. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"You are always so tense, Montana. I think you could benefit from a massage. And luckily for you, I have decided to offer you one, which you graciously accept. Gettin' you all limber will of course further my later plans."

Oh, my._ That's_ what she was going to start visualizing? It already seemed to be working as the mere suggestion of his hands on her body sent a lick of heat through her. She remembered from when he held her hand in his for a long minute during an investigation that his grip was firm, and his fingers weren't too rough. She nodded to herself as she admitted that he probably gave great massages.

"First I have to get you used to me touchin' you and so as you're layin' there with the sheet draped low over your hips I use only my fingertips. I start with your neck, and then I move to your shoulders, your back, and all the way down to your feet. I don't leave a single surface untouched."

He was imagining her as being naked during this? Not that it should surprise her, really, but for some reason until he said it she hadn't thought about it. Now of course she'd be lucky if she ever _stopped_ thinking about it.

And what was that about no surface untouched?

"You seem to be pretty relaxed, although you did jump at a few points," he teased, "and so I ask you if you're ready for me to continue, and you nod your head so I reach for the massage oil."

At the word 'oil' a thousand different images scrambled for dominance in Lindsay's brain, and none of them had to do with a friendly massage.

"I pour some into the palm of my hand and rub them together lightly. Then I begin to use long, deep strokes on your back. I ask you if I'm too hard or too soft on you, and you crack some joke that surprises me but makes me laugh. I move to your shoulders and you give this deep groan of relaxation that unfortunately does not serve to relax me at all."

_Finally_. It was about time he started getting affected here, Lindsay thought.

"I work my way from your shoulder down your arm to your hand and I make sure to work each finger real good before I move to your legs. It's tough to stay focused on simply relaxin' you and my mouth is practically waterin' from the thought that I've finally gotten my hands on you…I gotta tell you, your legs have been killin' me since I saw you in that dress."

For a minute Lindsay was snapped out of the imagery and taken back to the night in question. So he'd liked what he'd seen, did he? She flushed at the thought and savored the warmth it brought. She decided it would be a wise move to sit down, lest he say something that made her weak in the knees. If she let him see how affected he made her feel she would never hear the end of it.

"I can tell from the way your calf feels in my hands that you prefer to take the stairs over the elevator. Of course, my observation could also be attributed to the insane amount of pacing you do as you wait for lab results."

Lindsay had to grin at that. It was one of the first things he had teased her about, and it always made her roll her eyes and whack him whenever she passed by on one of her "rounds" as he called them.

"I work my way slowly back up your body, and when you arch your hips into my hands it's all I can do to keep massaging you."

Lindsay bit her lip to keep from releasing the moan that was begging to be set free. She blushed at both the realization that it was a wholly unnecessary precaution as well as at the images coursing through her head.

Where on earth had Danny learned to talk like this?

She knew full well of his reputation as a "love 'em and leave 'em" type of guy. She didn't know whether it was a wholly deserved reputation but in her experience every rumor had a grain of truth to it. So going off that theory it naturally surprised her that he would have bothered to learn how to verbally seduce a woman.

Of course abandoning theories altogether when she looked at Danny she saw a guy who would have no problems with seducing a woman the good old fashioned physical way. Speaking of which, she realized her musings were causing her to tune Danny out. She hurried to refocus.

"…and I sweep your hair off of your neck and you lean into my fingers. Not too much, just enough to let me know you like it. I give in to the urge to taste you and I bend down and kiss you just below your ear. You shudder and twist your neck closer. You're beggin' without words and it's so hot to me I can't help but obey. I keep kissing and you jerk when I open my lips and suck on your neck. I know you'll want to kill me when you see the mark I leave but it's worth it 'cause whether or not you realize it you're mine and I want everyone to know you're taken."

She appreciated the fact that most likely she was going to die tonight, because if she didn't she had no idea how she was going to face Messer ever again.

Did he have any idea how incredibly arousing he was? Just imagining him as wanting her enough to want to brand her as his own was an aphrodisiac the likes of which she had never encountered.

"I slide my hand down to your hip and squeeze when you raise your hips off the bed and push back into me. I move my hand to your waist and tease you, drawing little circles until you suddenly roll your hips against mine and then it's game on."

Oh, god. It was so brutally unfair that she was going to die tonight and never get a chance to play this out for real.

"I switch my focus and while one hand goes up the other travels down. I—"

The silence was so sudden and absolute that she thought for an instant she'd actually died.

It took a moment for her to recognize the electricity had gone out, and another second had passed when she heard the click of the door latch.

Freedom!

She crawled over to the door and tried to open it, but her hands were numb and it took her longer than she expected. Finally it opened a crack and she peered out into the darkness. She pulled herself through and closed the door behind her, taking a moment to simply enjoy the warmth of the space she was in.

Then she began to pull herself blindly along, straining her ears for any indications that her captor or captors were arriving on the scene. But Lady Luck was apparently a fan of hers tonight for she managed to get to the end of what she assumed was a hallway and pull herself up and out a doorway into what she hoped was a stairwell and not a closet.

She rested for a minute, exhaustion threatening to overtake her. She forced herself to move when she felt herself begin to fall asleep. She stretched her hands in front of her body and had just grasped what felt like a ledge of some kind when the lights came back on.

She froze like a proverbial deer-in-the-headlight before a shot of adrenaline hit her and she pushed herself up to her feet and looked around. Sure enough, she was in a stairwell and she hesitated only as long as it took to ensure she could go down before she began to hobble down the stairs. Her joints, heck, her whole body protested loudly as the adrenaline wore off and she barely made it out an emergency exit at the bottom of the stairwell before collapsing heavily against the side of the building.

Breathing erratically she scanned the area, and seeing a small corner market across the street had her sending a hallelujah to whatever god was listening. She almost fell through the door and when she made eye contact with the stunned cashier she was only able to mutter: "Call an ambulance," before she passed out at his feet.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not for profit, though a little profit wouldn't exactly be amiss, here.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who reads and reviews. Special thanks to moyeh, whose review I was unable to reply to offline.

On with the chapter…

* * *

As soon as the video feed went dark Danny began to panic.

"Oh, god, Lindsay? Lindsay, can you hear me?"

Danny whipped out his cell and hit the speed dial frantically. He got up and paced.

"Taylor," the voice came through.

"Mac? The feed's gone. The screen went dark. We lost audio a few minutes ago and now the video's gone too."

Mac stopped walking and thought for a minute as he digested the news Danny had delivered.

"Did you lose audio on both ends at the same time?"

Danny shook his head.

"Naw, hers was gone first. She could still hear me until just now. Then all of a sudden everything just went dark on the screen."

Mac pinched the bridge of his nose and waved Stella over as he gave his response.

"We'll check the power company and see where the disturbance calls are coming in for interrupted power. This could be the break we've been waiting for."

Danny nodded and waited for his orders. Stella held her phone up to Mac and once she received his approval went about calling the power company. Mac switched his focus back to Danny.

"Danny? As soon as we get a hit on the possible brownout location I want you to start calling all the hospitals in the area. If Lindsay manages to get out somehow then she's going to need to be treated for possible hypothermia. As soon as I call you back get the word out that we're looking for a kidnapped NYPD officer with possible exposure."

"Okay, I can do that. In the meantime, what should I do?"

Mac thought for a minute. He knew Danny was going stir crazy already, having lost the only link they had to Lindsay, and what he was about to tell him was not going to make him happy.

"I need you to stay there, let me know if and when the feed is re-established. If it comes back up you'll be the first one to see if Lindsay is there or not. Once we get the information from the power company we'll start canvassing the neighborhood."

"I want to help look for her," Danny interrupted.

"I know you do, Danny, but I really need you there. If Lindsay is still trapped then we'll need you to tell her to make noise for us to find her. And if she's not there, we need you to keep an eye on any possible suspects who might make an appearance. Also, we need someone to be the liaison with the hospital, when it gets to that part. Someone needs to be there with Lindsay to get her statement. Would you rather I sent someone else to be with Lindsay at the hospital?"

Danny didn't even need to think about it.

"No, no. I wanna be there, Mac."

"Okay then. I know it's tough but just hang tight, jot down the details so far, how long you were talking, at about what time the power went out, the details we'll need to help with the timeline. I'll call you as soon as we get a lead on her."

As Mac hung up the phone Stella came back over.

"It looks like we can thank Mrs. Juanita DeGuerraz for this break. Apparently there was a power outage that has dared to interrupt her viewing of _America's Most Wanted_, and she voiced a very vocal complaint from her apartment on East 65th Street. The company told me a ten-block grid from about East 64th and Rebecca up to East 74th and Calhoun had an interruption of power about six minutes ago."

"Great. Call Flack, have him round up some uni's to help. I'll call Hawkes, have him get the car. We'll call Danny on the way; have him start calling the hospitals in the area."

They hurried to place the calls and get down to the parking garage as quickly as possible.

Danny walked back and forth in front of the laptop, willing it to come on. His phone rang and he nearly jumped.

"Messer," he all but barked out.

"Danny, we're on our way to start the search. Here's the grid you need to find hospitals around," Mac spoke without preamble and Danny wrote down the details then hung up. He ran out of the room to find a detailed street map and he wrote down the names of half a dozen hospitals he needed to call.

He went back into the room with the laptop and he began to call the hospitals. As soon as he was finished he went back to staring at the screen. He flinched when the image flickered back to life, and his heart sped up as he realized that Lindsay was no longer in the room. He called Mac.

"Mac, Lindsay's gone. I called the hospitals and gave them the info, but the screen doesn't show anything except that the door's open and the room's empty."

Mac sighed and tried to remain optimistic, although he knew the chances were better that Lindsay's captors had come back and had removed her from the room than that she had caught a break and had somehow managed to escape.

"Okay, Danny. I want you to stay put. Now that we know she's not there we're going to assume she made it out and is on her way to a hospital. So I need you there to field any calls that come in and get us the information as soon as you get it, all right?"

He held his breath, waiting for Danny to argue with him, so he was surprised when Danny agreed without a fight.

"Yeah, I can do that. This waitin's drivin' me nuts, though, you know?"

Mac nodded.

"I understand. Listen, why don't you go ahead and get everything ready to go to the hospital. Check that your recorder has extra batteries, stuff like that."

Danny cracked a grin.

"Yeah, I get it…keep myself busy. Well I better go let you get back to your stuff."

After he hung up Danny sat back in his chair and sighed. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before reaching for a pen and the report he was going to have to start filling in sometime.

He jotted down all the relevant information, thankful that there wasn't a portion of the report that asked him to detail exactly what he and Montana had been talking about before the feed went down.

Boy wouldn't _that_ be fun to explain to Mac?

Lindsay's eyelids fluttered open and she immediately shut them against the glare of the lights. There was an oxygen mask over her face and people were talking all around her. She tried to pull the mask off but a hand clamped down on her own.

"She's conscious," a voice said and Lindsay tried to speak but coughed instead.

"Miss?" a different voice asked. "You're at Angel of Mercy Hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Lindsay nodded and opened her eyes slowly. An elderly nurse with a warm smile patted her hand.

"We need to contact the police," she began and Lindsay nodded her head vigorously and whispered Danny's name.

"You know an officer?" the woman asked and Lindsay nodded. The woman removed the oxygen mask. "Okay, tell me their name and then I'll put this back on."

"Danny Messer."

When the phone rang Danny pounced on it.

"Crime Lab, Messer," he clipped out in a tense tone.

"Detective Messer?" an unknown voice asked.

"Speaking."

"This is Sophia Bates from Angel of Mercy Hospital. We have—" she began, only to have Danny jump in.

"You have Lindsay?" he asked as he jumped out of his chair, not caring how pathetically desperate he sounded.

"Lindsay?" the voice asked.

"Yeah. Lindsay. Detective Lindsay Monroe. She's my partner. She got kidnapped earlier and we've been looking for her. It's possible she has exposure or hypothermia."

"Can you describe her for me, detective?"

"She's about 5'3", 120, shoulder length brown wavy hair, brown eyes. Cute country accent."

The nurse chuckled and Danny blushed. Montana would kill him dead after hearing that description.

"Well detective we have someone here that matches that description, although the only thing I heard her say was your name so I can't say for sure about the accent," she teased. "Would you mind coming down to identify her?"

"I'm on my way," he announced and hung up and collapsed back in the chair, suddenly shaky. They found her. She was alive. He grabbed his cell phone, checked to make sure he had everything he needed to take Lindsay's statement and then he all but ran out of the room. He called Mac as he raced down the stairs.

"Mac, it's Danny. Angel of Mercy called…I'm going over to see if someone who was just brought in is Lindsay. Whoever it is asked that I be called so I'm assumin' it's her, and the nurse said she fit my description of her."

"That's great, Danny. We'll meet you over there."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Yeah, same old same old here. Not for profit, solely for entertainment.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed, especially those who gave me the technical info I asked for. I really appreciated it. Special thanks to moyeh, nicola and zora whose reviews I could not reply to offline.

On with the chapter…

* * *

Danny pulled into the parking lot and struggled to get his seat belt undone. He raced across the street and burst through the doors, looking around for the admissions station. When he found it he fumbled for his badge, annoyed that his fingers were suddenly clumsy at every turn.

"Detective Messer, NYPD," he told the nurse, "Sophia Bates called me, said there's a patient I need to identify…it could be my partner."

As the woman behind the station went through the admit papers, searching for the ones that would hopefully lead Danny to Lindsay he allowed himself to think about the night. At first he thought about the general things, like how worried he had been about Lindsay, how glad he had been when they saw her on the screen, even more so when they learned they could communicate.

But really he was just working himself up to thinking about their…huh. What word to use? _Their round of almost phone sex?_ He nodded to himself. Sure, that worked.

At the time it had seemed like a great idea. He wasn't sure it was a bad idea, actually, it was more he was concerned that they had just gone ahead with it without the contemplation such a plan warranted.

What about now? How did they handle it? Of course at the time they were both solely concerned with her survival, and talk of what might happen in the future was inextricably linked to the shared thought that there might not be a future to contemplate, and thus such talk was avoided like the plague.

So now he was going to see her, and she was going to be fine. But how did he handle seeing her and thinking of what had happened? And it wasn't only the kidnapping that worried him, although images of it were sure to haunt him, but it was also dealing with the fantasy.

A line had been crossed.

He paused and let the implications of that statement settle into his brain. There had been something between them, something beyond mere co-workers, for a while. But they had been careful to simply flirt with the boundaries, too aware of what pitfalls lie in wait for those who cross the line and then conclude that the grass was greener where they were.

Tonight's verbal interlude did more than put a simple toe over the line, it catapulted Danny and Lindsay into this grey area that left Danny feeling unnerved and shaken.

He was never going to be able to just be her friend, after this. There would always be this night to link them. There would always be the shared imagery he had allowed to spill forth. No matter how ruthlessly he trampled it back, he would always know he had allowed Lindsay to hear he wanted her.

And he would always know she had encouraged him to do it. In a teasing, flirtatious manner that characterized most of their interactions, Lindsay had challenged him, had dared him to seduce her with the power of his words.

But now that the danger had passed and she was out of the woods…what happened?

He hadn't gone nearly as far as he could have, would have, had the power not been cut. Was this perhaps a sign they weren't meant for anything more than this? Should they set aside tonight as an errant day in their lives? Instead of trying to see where this new development could take them should they chalk it up to one partner helping another? Was it possible for them to simply gloss over the night and go back to the flirtatious banter that pervaded their every meeting?

"Detective Messer?"

The nurse's bland voice broke through his reverie and he snapped to attention.

"Yes?"

"Take these forms to admit up on the third floor. Nurse Bates will meet you there and take you to make the identification."

Danny nodded as he took the forms from her.

"Thank you."

As he made his way up the flights of stairs he decided that he had to see Lindsay to determine what course of action he was going to take. With his luck she had suffered amnesia and would have no memory of the night's events. But if she didn't then she probably had a plan in place, or would at least give off signals to let him know how she wanted to handle the situation.

Lindsay blinked sleepily and burrowed deeper into the blanket, unable to get warm. Why was she so cold? Oh yes, the whole kidnapping thing. She allowed herself to fully recall all of the images and feelings, knowing that she would have to go to counseling before the department approved her for work and so she might as well get some practice in reliving everything so they would see she wasn't hiding from it.

But she was still so cold. She needed to get warm. She closed her eyes and thought of being in that room, of being so cold.

And then she thought of Danny.

As if she could make him appear with the power of her thoughts she opened her eyes and saw him leaning against the doorjamb. To the casual observer he appeared nonchalant but being a CSI of course made Lindsay all the more observant and she could see that he held himself tensely.

Lindsay smiled at him and saw some of the tension dissipate.

"Hey, Montana," he greeted in a low voice.

"Hey yourself," she said, indicating with her hand that he should move further in to the room. He went to the corner and grabbed a chair, dragging it over to her bedside where he situated himself. He took a few moments to look at her up close and grinned self-consciously when she caught him staring.

"Sorry, I was just checkin' to make sure you're as okay as they tell me."

She nodded and for a minute all they did was look at one another, both searching for clues in the other as to how to proceed. Danny realized he needed to get her statement before Mac came over with the rest of the gang and so he pulled out his recorder and the police report.

"You feel up to givin' me some details to help us nail these bastards?"

Work. Work needed to come first, Lindsay decided as she settled back into the pillows and waited for Danny's questions. They could wait to figure out what the night meant later.

When Mac, Stella and Hawkes made it over a little while later they weren't surprised to hear that Danny had beaten them by a good bit of time. The doctor came out of Lindsay's room and after seeing the badges addressed the group.

"She's going to be fine. We gave her some fluids and something to help her sleep. You can go see her but she won't be able to stay awake for more than a few minutes."

"Thank you, doctor," Mac said as he led the rest of the team in to Lindsay's room. Danny was sitting on a chair near the edge of the bed and he was writing down whatever Lindsay was saying. She smiled when she saw them all come through the door.

"Hey guys," she whispered.

"The doctor says you're going to be just fine," Hawkes announced and Lindsay nodded.

"Were you able to tell Danny anything about your location?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, she knows about where it is. I got a lead on the store she went in to that called in the 911. Dispatch is gonna call with the location ASAP," Danny answered for her.

"We'll send a team over to process the room you were in. Hopefully the evidence we get there will help us keep these guys behind bars for a long time."

Lindsay nodded and yawned, trying to keep her eyes opened. Stella was the first to comment on it.

"Okay guys, let's get over there and start processing. The sooner we start the sooner we can nail these bastards. We'll check on you tomorrow, Lindsay."

Lindsay smiled as everyone made their way over to kiss her cheek, squeeze her shoulder or hug her. They all filed out until Danny was the last one in the room. He walked over and sat on the bed beside her. She blinked up at him sleepily and gave him a small smile. He leaned over and kissed her forehead then got up and made his way to the door.

"Danny?"

He turned around hesitantly. Her voice had been so soft he thought he was imagining it, but her eyes were open and her gaze was trained on him.

She beckoned him over with her hand, a haphazard gesture. He ambled over and stopped at the edge of her bed, looking down at her. She was clearly struggling to stay awake, and he wondered why.

"Can I see your hands for a second?" she whispered, holding her own out. The edges of his lips twitched but he extended his hands without a word and placed them into hers.

She closed her eyes for a minute and he felt her fingers trace over the surface of his hands, finally entwining them with his fingers and resting for a moment before she pulled them away and sighed, settling deeper into her pillow with a small smile on her face.

For a moment all he could do was stare. Then he roused himself and spoke.

"Montana?" Danny uttered softly, afraid she'd already fallen asleep.

"Hmm?" she answered in a low voice without opening her eyes.

"What the hell was that for?"

She smiled and opened her eyes again, though it was obviously an effort to do so.

"If I'm going to constantly feel your hands on me in my dreams I think it'll help to actually remember what your hands feel like, don't you?"

She closed her eyes and succumbed to the drugs as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Then he shook his head and laughed quietly as he made his way out of the room.

If that wasn't a signal from her on how to proceed he'd turn in his badge and quit the force.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I wish hard enough, will they become mine?

Spoilers: Season Two.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to all my reviewers, you guys rock! Special thanks to zora, whose review I could not reply to offline. And no, you're not a freak.

On with the chapter...

* * *

Danny was confident that Lindsay was interested in pursuing things between them. At least he had been while he was at the hospital with her…and she was on drugs.

Hmmm. Perhaps it would be wise to test the waters now that she was out of mortal danger and off the IV?

"I can't believe he was still there when you guys made it over," Lindsay told Sheldon as they rode in the elevator to her floor. Hawkes shrugged.

"I'm just glad we caught him. God knows I wish they were all so stupid. At least you can sleep knowing he's behind bars."

Lindsay nodded and yawned as she let Hawkes in and closed the door behind her. He stayed with her for a while chatting and eating dinner before he was paged to go back to the lab. As he left he smiled at Lindsay and her guard was up in an instant.

"Can you do me a favor and assure Danny that you're fine?" he teased and Lindsay blushed and ducked her head. "And remind him that we _did_ catch the guy who took you, so he doesn't need to become a one-man vigilante force?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes and shook her head at Hawkes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, you know," she informed him though it was clear she was fighting a grin.

"Sure you don't. Well, I'll see you soon, right?"

She nodded and locked the door behind him, and thought about Danny. The fact he was so protective of her was sweet, really, as was the fact he either wasn't able to or didn't bother to conceal it from the team. It warmed her up in a way she could definitely get used to.

Danny garnered up the courage to call Lindsay and see if he could pick up on whether or not the drugs made her send out signals she now regretted. But it wasn't easy. Of course, given the nature of their jobs and their personalities it really shouldn't have come as a surprise when Danny called her after Hawkes had settled her back into her apartment that the conversation floundered.

Neither one seemed to know how to bring the subject up they both wanted to discuss and so they fell back into neutral topics, occasionally letting loose with a slightly risqué joke or comment that served not only to lighten the mood but also to assure each other the sexual tension was still alive and kicking.

They came to the same conclusion…they needed to see each other before they decided how to pursue whatever it was they were going to pursue. Danny asked her if she wanted a ride in the morning for her first day back and Lindsay was grateful and nervous at the thought that she'd get to see him alone.

"So I'll pick ya up around nine? Sound good?" he asked.

"I'll be waiting," Lindsay answered with a smile he could hear in her voice.

When the phone rang the next morning she was surprised at the voice at the other end of the line.

"Good morning, Lindsay," Stella said, "Excited about coming back to work?"

"Hey, Stella. Yeah, I am."

"Good. That's sort of why I'm calling. I'm going to be coming past your place in about 25 minutes and I thought you'd like a lift."

"Oh, well—" Lindsay began.

"Danny called me," Stella interrupted, "he got called into work early and said he had planned on picking you up this morning. So I told him I'd call and see if you'd let me do the honors."

Lindsay could hardly say no, and so a little over half an hour later after receiving a warm welcome back hug she found herself buckled into the passenger seat of Stella's car. They'd only driven a little ways when Stella spoke up.

"You know, Danny was pretty pissed he wasn't going to be the one to pick you up," Stella commented, sneaking a sideways glance at Lindsay and inwardly smiling when she saw the younger woman's cheeks blush, "And he would have called you himself but it was pretty early and he was afraid you'd still be sleeping."

"Yeah, I probably was," Lindsay admitted, although she could hardly think of a better way to be woken up than to the sound of Danny Messer's voice.

The conversation drifted to more neutral topics, with Stella giving Lindsay the heads up on the newest cases their team was tackling. When they walked off the elevator Lindsay was nearly bowled over by the enthusiastic greetings and well wishes she received. Even Mac put a hand on her shoulder and asked about her, minutes before piling on the paperwork. She didn't grumble about being put on light duty for a week, although the weight of the stack of paperwork certainly made that term an oxymoron.

After a couple hours when she still hadn't seen Danny she resigned herself to the fact that the case was probably going to keep him away, and it was undoubtedly a good thing, since she needed time to digest what had happened between them.

After another two hours had passed she was so absorbed in reading over the details of a case she was filing that it took her a moment to recognize the feeling of eyes on her. Looking up she was surprised and also delighted to see Danny lounging against the door jamb. _Boy oh boy was he good-looking._

"Hey there, Montana," he drawled with a smirk. _I could stare at her for hours._

"Hey yourself."

He looked around the room for a moment before allowing his eyes to return to hers.

"I can see that many flowers have already died to make your day, and thus I feel all right that I chose something else."

He held up a large white bag.

"Hungry yet?"

She nodded and stood up to join him, smiling at him as she walked past.

"Wonton eggdrop, my favorite," she enthused as he handed her a container and a spoon, "How'd you know?"

He shrugged but if she'd looked Lindsay would have seen the tips of his ears burning. For his part he was just happy they had the break room to themselves.

"I remember you sayin' somethin' about it. Anyway, when I got out of the panic room all I wanted was cold food for about a week. So I took a gamble it might be the same for you with the hot stuff."

"You were right. I can't seem to get warm enough since getting out of the hospital, but the doctor said it was just a phase. Plus the weather being pretty crappy isn't helping."

They chatted and ate until Danny's pager went off. He got up and chucked his containers into the garbage, cheering when he made both the shots he'd taken.

"What time are you done today?" he asked as he grabbed his lab coat. She shrugged.

"I have enough paperwork to keep me here until the next millennium, but I think I'll knock off around six or seven."

He nodded and moved to the door.

"I'll try to come back and see you around then."

She bobbed her head in agreement and he was gone with a quick salute before she realized she should have just told him she'd see him tomorrow. He didn't need to check up on her, which is surely what he'd meant.

Making her way back to her desk she plopped herself down and reached for another file. The afternoon crawled by, and she caught herself glancing at the clock all too often. People continued to come in and see how she was doing, and she was surprised at the effort it took to convince everyone she was okay. It was exhausting to have to plaster a smile on her face every couple of minutes, even more taxing to hold up her end of a conversation.

The pages in front of her began to blur, and she found herself suddenly snapping awake after nearly hitting her head on the desk. She glanced at the clock and saw it was after six, but she couldn't wait for Danny to come anymore, and she acknowledged he was the only reason she'd stayed. Right now she needed to get home and go to sleep.

She turned off the lights and grabbed her coat before shutting the door behind her. As she waited for the elevator to arrive she struggled with the arms of her jacket and had just finished zipping it up when she noticed that the car was stopped. When it didn't move after a minute she crossed the hallway to the bench opposite the elevator and leaned her head against the wall, feeling the strain of the day attack her body.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened. Lindsay reluctantly pushed herself up but the figure inside the elevator caused her to stop and stare. Danny was settled into a corner of the car watching her. He catalogued her appearance and took in all the tension she was feeling.

"You done?" he asked. She nodded.

"Come here," he beckoned, using the same sort of hand motion she had at the hospital. A bit wary she nonetheless made her way over and stopped just inside the doors. His right hand hit the button for the parking garage as he reached his left hand out to her. She furrowed her brows at him but put her hand in his.

He tugged on it until she moved closer and just when she was about to put her other hand up to stop herself from crashing into him he moved his right hand to her left shoulder. Before she knew what had happened he'd spun her around and pulled her back against his chest, one arm across her waist, the other across the front of her shoulders.

He was holding her, hugging her, really.

It was the first time she'd ever been in his arms.

She tensed for a millisecond and then practically melted into him, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. His breath fanned her temple and she could fell the stress drain away, to be replaced with delicious languid warmth.

"Long day today," he murmured into her hair, and she simply nodded, too tired to do much else.

The elevator continued its descent and Lindsay became drowsier with every floor. When the doors opened again she sighed but didn't open her eyes. Behind her Danny didn't make an effort to move either at first, content to lean against the wall with Lindsay in his arms. But then he decided it was best they get moving before the elevator got called again.

"Monroe, we gotta get a move on outta here and get you home."

"Can't I just sleep here?"

He laughed and she could feel the vibrations in his chest. Opening her eyes she groaned and moved out of the circle of his arms, pushing the button to open the door and trudging out with Danny close behind.

She stuck her hands in her pockets and hunched down in her coat and began to walk towards the sidewalk. Realizing she wasn't following him Danny called out.

"Montana? Where are you goin'? My car's over here."

She stopped and turned around, looking so adorably confused he almost laughed.

"What? You thought I was gonna let you take the subway? No way…I didn't get to bring you in today, so at least I get to bring you home."

She smiled and shook her head.

"You don't have to do that, Danny. I can take the subway."

"I know you are capable of takin' the subway, but I'm not arguin' with you about this so will you please get your cute little keister in here so we can get the heat on?"

Lifting her hands in a gesture of surrender she crossed the parking lot to him and got in the door he was holding open for her. Settling herself in she buckled her seat belt and turned to him.

"Do you remember how to get to my place?"

He nodded as he turned on the heat full blast and pulled out of the garage. The drive to Lindsay's apartment was quiet, and she had almost fallen asleep again when he pulled up in front of her building. He turned to her.

"Before you start in with me I'm comin' up with you to get you settled."

She smiled at him.

"Do you often invite yourself up to women's apartments?"

He smirked.

"I usually don't have to…" he seemed to consider what he'd said, because he added "and I promise I won't try any funny stuff."

She rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt, then got out of the car and dug in her bag for her keys. She told herself she was glad to hear him say that…really, she was. She was in no condition to get hit on.

She decided the whole elevator thing was just a friend comforting a friend, nothing more. Well, she'd wanted a signal and she supposed she got one. He wasn't into her.

Danny held the door open for her and waited for her to precede him into the lobby. They silently made their way to the elevator. As the doors sealed shut behind them Danny turned to Lindsay and backed her into the wall. Too surprised to do anything but react, her hands came up to rest on his chest while his came up to rest on her hips. He leaned down until their noses were almost touching.

"Oh…just so you know, I don't think kissin' is funny."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Me = Owning none of the characters. You = a clear understanding of this concept.

Author's note: I continue to be ever so pleased by the reaction to this story. Thank you to A, whose review I could not respond to offline.

Spoilers: Just know who the team is.

And now, welcome to the M rating!

* * *

And suddenly she was buzzed awake, and every nerve ending was on high alert. For a lingering moment they just looked at each other, and she could not remember ever holding a gaze this long. Danny seemed to be searching her eyes for something but she didn't know what. After a minute more he pushed himself away and settled next to her, watching the numbers light up as they passed each floor.

"Don't worry, Monroe. I would never take advantage of you."

She absently nodded and turned her attention to the numbers as well. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Besides, you're not 100 percent. I would never want to wear you out unless you were at your best."

She rolled her eyes as they got off the elevator and walked down to her apartment. As she closed the door behind him she couldn't resist asking.

"So once I'm back to 100 percent you plan on wearing me out?"

As he took off his coat his grin was contagious.

"You know, Montana…the way you just said that? Call me crazy but it sounds like you are once again doubtin' my abilities."

She held her hand out for his coat and when he reached his hand out she put her hand on his and closed the distance between them until she was barley brushing his chest. She smiled and looked up at him through her lashes.

"Absolutely," she whispered before removing the coat and walking to the couch.

He stood for a moment, memorizing the way she looked up close before he shook his head and shuffled over to join her on the couch. He placed an arm along the back of the couch and leaned over until he was a breath away.

"You just wait, Montana," he whispered, "I'm gonna surprise you yet."

But it had been almost two months since then, and he hadn't put any sort of moves on her. At least not physically speaking. Not that he had become completely absent from her life…far from it. He picked her up for work or took her home on a fairly regular basis, and then after a couple of weeks they began to adjust their schedules so they could include going out to eat whatever meal was appropriate for the time.

They also frequently took their breaks together, and talked a lot more freely while working. And their conversations were always flavored with the same banter as before, except now there was an even more pronounced undercurrent of sexual tension.

Part of Lindsay couldn't have been more thrilled with the turn of events. She had wanted to feel like a part of the team from the very beginning, and now she felt the warmth of acceptance full circle. She wasn't stupid…she knew she was taking his partner's place when she arrived. She didn't know how well he'd gotten along with Aiden, or any of the circumstances surrounding Aiden's departure. But one thing she did know was that Danny had made it clear he would be the last one to give her a sense of belonging.

Now that they were friends, however, she felt like she fit. Danny's teasing had worried her at first, but now it was a welcome part of their shared vocabulary. It was exactly what she'd wanted, but now she was annoyed to find it wasn't all she wanted. Now she wanted Danny, too.

How could she not, when her nights were filled with erotic dreams that featured the two of them together? How could she not long for him when she all-too-frequently woke up covered in a thin sheen of sweat, heart pounding and body aching because he wasn't there to turn those dreams into reality?

How could she help but want him when suddenly she spent too much of her free time drinking him in as he talked, cataloguing every gesture and facial expression, having…as she'd predicted…wild and wildly inappropriate fantasies about him during her waking hours?

She had decided after she had bid him farewell one night that she was being selfish and less than smart. They were friends, and she was very lucky. It would behoove her to be satisfied with that.

And so she started to make a conscious effort to stop her workday daydreams and to just accept the situation as it was. She thought she was doing a decent job of it and that Danny had obviously just been teasing her as per usual with all his talk of waiting until she was 100 percent.

But all that changed one night when her phone rang a little after one in the morning.

She reached over, pulled it off the cradle and murmured a sleepy hello into it.

"So ever since the night you were taken I haven't been able to climax without thinkin' about touchin' you."

_Danny?_ Her sharp intake of breath was the only indication she'd heard him.

"And that's a good thing, because I've never come harder in my life. But I was wonderin' if that's the best it'll ever be…and then it hit me that thinkin' about you touchin' me might work just as well. But I don't have the added benefit of bein' able to hear your voice now and replay it in my head later and so I'm gonna need your help."

_What?_

"What?" she whispered, unable to believe she'd actually heard him correctly.

"I need you to come up with some sort of sexual fantasy about the two of us together, Montana," he explained. She blinked.

"Come again?"

"And again and again, hopefully."

Lindsay absently noted that he sounded pretty damn calm about this whole thing. She, however, was still convinced she must be half-asleep. Nevertheless she gave a small laugh when their last bits of conversation replayed themselves.

"Right. I'm sure this is why you woke me up. Why did you really call?"

"That_ is_ why I called. However, it also occurred to me that you never got to hear the end of our conversation from that night, and I wondered if it was somethin' you'd like to listen to?"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. But you are gonna have to reciprocate big time."

She laughed…she couldn't help it.

"So I'm guessing you think whatever you're going to say is well worth what I'd say in return," she teased.

"Yeah, Montana…_if_ you can handle what I'm gonna say."

"Oh, I can _handle_ whatever you've got, Danny," she told him in a low voice, thankful beyond words they were no where near each other so he couldn't see how red she was. His laugh made her breath catch and heat pool in her belly.

"Speaking of handling things, Miss Monroe, I do believe that I was in the process of working my magic on your hips when we were so rudely interrupted. So let's see, where were we? We have you naked and we have a hickey on your neck the size of Jersey. Okay."

He took a deep breath as he recollected what he had said to her, aware he was going to repeat himself a bit at first but unsure how much she had heard before the feed cut out.

"I give in to the urge to taste you and I bend down and kiss you just below your ear. You shudder and twist your neck closer. I keep kissing and you jerk when I open my lips and suck on your neck. I know you'll want to kill me when you see the mark I leave and I look forward to the retribution."

"I slide my hand down to your hip and squeeze when you raise your hips off the bed and push back into me. I move my hand to your waist and tease you, drawing little circles until you suddenly roll your hips against mine and then it's game on."

"I switch my focus and while one hand goes up the other travels down. I keep one hand on your hip to anchor you to me while the other gets to test just how much this massage has affected you."

Lindsay had to bite her hand to keep from giving him any idea as to how just these past _five minutes_ had affected her.

"You moan and can't help but grind your hips against me as my finger slides against you. And you're already so wet for me…goddamn you get me hard. I can't wait to sink into you, feel you come apart around me, but I want to see if I can make you come from just this."

_Oh, god_. If he kept this up she was going to embarrass herself quite thoroughly…and soon.

"My finger slides inside and makes you gasp. I work another finger in and I'm curling them up inside you and the way your muscles clench makes me want to fuck you so hard you can't walk. After a few minutes of blissful torture I slowly withdraw and suck the taste of you from my fingers."

Danny's harsh breathing and near-constant stream of words had enabled Lindsay to hide the hitched breaths and sighs that escaped from behind her palm which was securely clamped over her mouth.

But as she imagined Danny tasting her she surprised herself by climaxing. By no means the biggest orgasm she had ever experienced it nonetheless made her drop her hand away and without thinking she moaned.

"Oh, god," she breathed out, and whatever Danny had been about to say died when the aroused tone of her words reached his ears.

He was suddenly even more grateful the cables had frozen when he'd been talking to her that night. If he'd heard her making noises like that…he shook his head. His cock twitched and demanded he find her…_now_. It was scary how turned on those two little words made him. His voice was ragged when he spoke.

"Is that typical of the kind of noises you're gonna make when I touch you? 'Cause I gotta tell you, that is fucking _hot_, Montana."

"Danny," his name came out as a strangled whisper and he nearly came from the need he could hear in her voice. He needed to hear more of her voice.

"It's your turn, Montana."

_Oh crap._

"My turn?" feigning innocence was not likely to be successful, but it would buy her time until she could think of a tactic that would be.

"Oh no, you're not weaselin' outta this. Fair is fair. I give, you give. I gave, now you gotta follow through."

"Oh I do, do I?"

"Absolutely."

"Hmmm…there doesn't seem to be much incentive for me to do that."

"I see what you're doin', and it ain't gonna work. What's the matter, are you scared?"

Of all the things he could have said to convince her to go through with her rash agreement that question was by far the most effective. She had a fantasy in mind in a flash. She could barely wait to get started so she could wipe that smug look off his face…or get that cocky tone out of his voice, as was the case.

_You want to play, Messer? Let's play._

"I've been waiting all day to get you alone, and finally our shifts are done and we're both off for the next twenty-four hours. We've been planning on spending every possible moment in bed, and I can barely contain myself as I go to the locker room and get my stuff together. I get to the elevator and I'm waiting for you but then my phone rings and it's you."

"Why do I get the feelin' I'm not showin' up?" he teased. She ignored him and kept talking.

"I'd wanted to go down on you in the elevator but you had to stay and finish reviewing a case, so I was left waiting. But I don't mind because by the time you open the door to my place you're already hard, and that always puts a smile on my face."

He hissed in his breath. _Damn_ Montana.

"You've been such a good boy to me lately I decide that I can wait to have you inside me a little while longer. Before you can kiss me hello I drop to my knees in front of you and undo your fly. I'm wondering as I start to suck you off if this will be the time I beat my own personal best at getting you to come."

He couldn't believe how what he was hearing was made all the more erotic by Lindsay's imaginings of them already being in a relationship. It was as if his brain responded to her suggestion that they'd already slept together dozens of times.

"You fist your hands in my hair and knock your head back on my door. I love seeing you get all worked up over me. After a few minutes I feel your gaze on me and I almost come right then and there from the look in your eyes. It's the one that tells me you want to fuck me more than you want to breathe, and it gets me wet every time."

"But I'm going to finish what I started before I let you touch me, and so I start to hum. And then I start to take you in even deeper, and I know you're getting close because your hands are clenching even tighter, and you're telling me just what you want me to do."

"And you're saying: 'Baby, stop. I want to be inside you.' But I won't listen and instead I reach my other hand in your pants and I start to caress you, lightly scratching just the way you like it and suddenly you're coming and I look up at you to watch your face as you climax for me."

"You slide down the door as soon as you're spent, and you tell me I'm an evil, evil girl. I just smile and ask you if you want to stay there or move this show into the bedroom. You stand back up and I wrap my hands around your waist, snaking them underneath your clothes. I rub your back and laugh when I move my hands to your side and make you jump."

"I pull you behind me and into the bedroom. We finally get to the bed, and I finish taking your clothes off. I love the way your skin feels next to mine, the way your muscles flex when I run my hands over them. I love the way you whine when I decide to kiss a line from your jaw to your toes, even though we both know it makes you crazy.

"When I'm done tasting you I straddle your hips and take off my clothes…except for my bra and panties...I need them for what comes next. Usually I go slow and tease you when I'm removing my clothes, but tonight I just want to get you hard again as quickly as possible and so I do what I always do to guarantee you'll be up for another round sooner rather than later."

"And what's that?"

"That's the subject of another conversation. Goodnight, Danny…sweet dreams."

And then she hung up.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: You thought I owned the characters? So sorry to disappoint you.

Author's Note: Well I am so pleased that I kept so many people when I switched to the new rating. If you have a problem with the story don't hesitate to let me know. I anticipate problems at some point so I'm looking into posting this at adult fanfiction as well as csi forensics in case I get booted.

If someone complains about my story will my entire profile get booted and will I lose all of my stories? I think I should probably know the answer to prepare myself. So if you know please let me know.

Thanks so much to A, whose review made me chuckle. You're too nice to me.

Spoilers: Season Two.

On with the chapter…

* * *

Danny pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it dumbfounded for a minute. He couldn't believe she'd hung up on him. The nerve! Then he chuckled and placed the receiver back in its cradle and lay back down on the bed, content to go over the conversation thus far.

Who knew Montana had it in her to come up with something so mind-numbingly erotic? This was definitely a ritual they were going to keep up as long as Danny's willpower could stand it. He wasn't sure how he was going to be able to look at her in the morning without imagining her on her knees in front of him.

It didn't matter if he'd never done or said some of the things she'd described. The way his blood was pumping it felt like he'd just done all those things…like he'd been there with her.

He groaned as he realized it was going to take a hell of a lot for him to keep his hands to himself around her…especially if they kept on doing this over the phone.

Later, as he lay spent amidst the tangled sheets of his bed he wondered if he was ready for the fallout that would certainly rain down if he prolonged this…whatever this was with Lindsay.

If he'd wanted her before, and well…had he? Before she was kidnapped what had he thought? He reflected for a moment and admitted he'd definitely found her more attractive the more he got to know her, but their working relationship was a definite deterrent, a handy excuse.

But since the night of her kidnapping it seemed less and less important that they worked together, and more and more important that they spend time together, regardless.

Throw in this electric chemistry they'd been fanning between themselves and Danny wondered if he'd ever find anyone he wanted to sleep with or heck just plain be with as much as he wanted Lindsay.

Meanwhile Lindsay had managed to stop the hysterical fit of laughter that had begun as soon as she hung up the phone.

"I can't believe I hung up!" she giggled, "Oh man he's gonna kill me tomorrow!"

She shook her head and replayed their conversation. Part of her was stunned that she'd so easily capitulated and told him a fantasy of hers. It was probably the most aroused she'd been since…well, the night she'd been kidnapped.

She chewed her lip and sighed as she questioned whether or not the fantasy had had any affect on Danny. He'd been pretty silent throughout, although his voice did sound a bit more gravelly than she was used to hearing there at the end.

She sighed and flipped over, determined to get a few more hours of sleep in before she had to face him.

She arrived first and was already in her lab coat and at her station before he made his appearance the next morning. She sensed his entrance and when she looked up and saw him her heart gave a distinct leap. His hair was slightly damp, either from the weather or from a recent shower, and Lindsay couldn't help the inundation of Danny-in-the-shower images that assaulted the back of her eyelids.

Glancing at his face she found herself unnaturally wary of the look in his eyes. It was aimed at her and it was downright predatory. She tried to assure herself that they were in the lab; he wouldn't do anything to her, and yet she still found herself taking a few cautious steps backward as he approached.

She reassured herself that her retreat was perfectly sane…one did not choose to put oneself in close proximity to one's object of desire so soon after an episode of phone sex, that's all.

It was unnerving to find her brain was equally divided…one half wished that the look in Danny's eyes meant he wanted to do exactly what she'd said on the phone last night and more, while the other was petrified by the same thought.

A small portion of both halves of her brain fought to deliver the message to her eyeballs that she really should blink, or at the very least stop staring so blatantly but to no avail as of yet.

For his part Danny sought Lindsay out as soon as he entered the lab. He lifted an eyebrow as he made note of Lindsay's flight and he smirked to himself. Her emotions were written plainly across her face. He hadn't planned on doing anything to her this morning, content to let them fall back into their fraught-with-unresolved-sexual-tension issues, but her retreat made him instantly rethink his plan of attack.

Because it looked like Lindsay was affected by last night, and damn if that wasn't a turn-on.

Not that he wasn't already struggling with that issue, but at least he'd been semi-prepared to see her and immediately think of her on her knees. He hadn't given much thought to her reaction to last night, though, and now he saw that for the mistake it was.

But there was little he could do about it now, except of course to push it as far as he dared while they were at work. And so he kept on walking over to her, making a show of doing up the buttons of his coat, not once breaking eye contact.

Lindsay realized she was being an idiot, and she should just quit moving, say hello and get back to work. So she stopped suddenly but almost started to back away again as she saw that her lack of momentum had not halted Danny's movements at all.

Her hello died in her throat as he entered her personal space and she held her breath as she waited for him to do or say something.

His lips twitched at her as he leaned in even closer.

"Mornin', Montana…sleep well?"

She relaxed enough to smile at him. He was teasing her. She was used to this, she could handle it.

"I was sleeping just fine until I got this prank call in the middle of the night."

He grinned and folded his arms across his chest.

"A prank call, huh? What happened?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Not too much, I'm afraid. I hung up on him, and you know what? I have the feeling I left him unsatisfied."

His smile broke through full force.

"I would have to say that is an excellent deduction, Miss Monroe. He was probably pretty _excited_ to get the chance to talk to you, and for you to hang up so rudely must have been a great disappointment."

She pulled a mock serious face.

"Do you think it's safe to say he was _deflated_ after talking to me?"

He threw his head back and laughed, and Lindsay blushed and moved past him back to her work station. When he composed himself he came up behind her, nearly flush with her back, and bent his mouth to her ear.

"You know what I think is safe to say, Montana?"

She could feel the heat radiating off him in waves even though they weren't touching. She slowly shook her head, wanting and yet not wanting to feel his lips brush against her skin and she closed her eyes, waiting.

"I think it was a damn good thing it was only a phone call, 'cause if he'd have gotten his hands on you last night you'd probably still be in bed pantin' beneath him."

Rat bastard! He had to know what images he was giving her when he said things like that, and he had to know what those images did to her mental faculties. She felt a delicious flush work its way through her body, and she had to count to ten before she could focus again.

She could either tease him or kiss him. Her body screamed there was absolutely, and-don't-give-me-any-excuse, no reason why she shouldn't just turn into him and kiss him with all she had.

But her brain remembered where they were and refused to allow him to have the last word. And so teasing won out although her body would take a long time in forgiving her. She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Do you think that'd be because he'd take that long to satisfy me?"

He shook his head and grinned, finally leaving her personal space and going over to his station.

"That's between the two of you, Monroe. Next time he calls you should ask him."

She quirked a brow at him.

"Next time? You think he'll call again?"

"Oh, I think you can count on that."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Author's Note: So I feel like I need to reiterate that I have not seen a SINGLE episode of season three. I have found the few spoilers I am unfortunate enough to be exposed to to be depressing on the DL front and so I have no plans to watch a single season three eppy until the end of this current set of stories is completed.

I find myself inspired by the show but I feel like from what I have heard it will lead me to angst as opposed to romance.

So please help me by keeping me spoiler free. Please do not let me know what specifically happens to keep the bummer that their relationship is going. It may very well kill the inspiration to write these stories.

Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys are great. This is sort of random but if I keep using the same phrasing in your reviews let me know. I try hard to think of new things to say each time and if I am not good at it I need to know. I'll try harder.

Thanks to donaa and A, whose reviews I could not reply to offline. A, thanks for the comments. You're too sweet, really. I hope to keep the progress moving right along…and donaa, I will try!

On with the chapter….

* * *

And that statement set off a period of nearly unbearable tension for Danny and Lindsay. He wanted to call her that night but their respective case loads got to be overwhelming and they needed all their energies for work.

But what they lacked in overt sexual tension they more than made up for with a noticeable increase in accidental and not-so-accidental touches. Every time they made contact the fire between them flared higher and they both longed for a quieter time. However it was almost ten days later before he had a chance to call.

"So where were we?"

Lindsay smiled into the phone. No formalities tonight, she mused. He wanted to get down to business.

"Hmm?" she murmured.

"What happens next?" he questioned.

"You know…I think I completely forget what happens next."

"Monroe," he groaned, "quit being such a tease."

"Why don't you remind me where we were, and I'll see if I can remember what comes next."

"Fine, but I better be comin' next."

He could imagine her rolling her eyes and he sighed.

"Ok. So I've been waitin' all day to see you, and I can't believe that we have a whole day to do nothin' but stay in bed. But then I have to review a case file right when I'm supposed to meet you, and so I'm more frustrated than before, which I hadn't thought was possible. By the time I get done you're back at your place waitin' for me, and I love it when you wait for me because I never know what's gonna to happen when I walk through that door."

Lindsay was speechless. She thought he would have just flown through the details, but instead he was re-telling and embellishing her fantasy from his own viewpoint, as if it was a shared memory he was relating.

And damn if that wasn't _hot_.

"All the way over I'm thinkin' about you. I'm gettin' hard just thinkin' about tastin' you, touchin' you, and gettin' you to make all those noises you make when I do somethin' that turns you on."

"I'm so consumed with what I'm gonna to do to you when I get there that I don't realize that maybe you have plans for me…and you do. As soon as I walk through the door I reach for you but you drop to your knees before I get a chance to even kiss you, and I'm confused for a minute until your hands and mouth finds me, and then I'm in heaven."

"And when I glance at you there's this look in your eyes and I know you're tryin' to get me to come as fast as you can and so I close my eyes because I enjoy this too damn much to give in to your need to beat yourself."

"But I can't wait forever, and all I want to do is just pick you up and fuck you against the door, and so I risk movin' my eyes to yours, wonderin' if you'll let me. It's always a roll of the dice with you, and I know I've lost when your hand starts touchin' me too. I try to convince you to stop but we both know I'm just tryin' to distract myself. But I don't really mind when I feel myself come inside that hot little mouth of yours."

"I accept that my legs have turned to jelly for a minute, and I give in to gravity and slide to the ground next to you. But before I can fall asleep you've got me back up and moving toward the bedroom. And you strip me quite thoroughly but I wonder why you're not naked yet, 'cause I know that ain't right."

"You decide to tease me even more and I am too satisfied to do more than put up a token protest. Plus, every second that passes is a second closer to me gettin' inside you so I lay back and wait to see what you're gonna do to help me get ready to make love to you for hours."

For a moment there was silence as Lindsay fought to calm her racing pulse. She had no idea hearing her fantasy like that would be just as erotic. Talk about being lucky it was a phone call—she'd have begged him to take her to bed if he were anywhere near her. She cleared her throat as discreetly as she could; hoping he wouldn't hear how much his voice had affected her.

But he could tell from the moment she started speaking that she was aroused, and that fact only served to heighten his own excitement.

"So I've decided to stop teasing you, for the moment. And so I take off my shirt and pants, and I'm wearing your favorite color—"

"Green," he whispered huskily, and Lindsay's stomach gave a jolt.

"Right, green," she whispered back unsteadily, "I'd bought a new set of lingerie the weekend before when I saw the schedule and I've been waiting to try them on for you. I let you run your hands over them for a minute, and you tease me about the see-through nature of the material."

Damn. _See-through?_ Was she trying to kill him with these images?

"But you have an idea of what's coming next, so you move your hands so you can prop your head up."

She paused for dramatic effect and was rewarded when she heard his voice.

"What happens next?"

"I slip my hand past the waistband of my panties and I start to touch myself."

Silence reigned.

More silence.

Lindsay bit her lip, wondering what Danny's response would be._ Had she gone too far?_

She didn't have long to wait.

She swore she could hear him swallow.

"Oh…_fuck me_, Montana."

For a moment Danny fell speechless again and couldn't form a coherent thought to save his life. All he could do was surrender to the rush of images that scrambled to occupy every corner of his brain.

As his brain began to file away the intensely intricate pictures it had created of Lindsay touching herself while on top of him he started to regain thought processing functions.

And his first thought was that Lindsay was lucky she was at home. If she was anywhere near him she'd be lucky to be walkin' tomorrow.

She chuckled softly. The sound prodded him to speak.

"That is so hot…how come I never thought of that?"

"Is that enough, or should I keep going?"

"Don't even joke about stoppin'."

She smiled; feeling a thrill of pleasure hit her at the thought that she was affecting Danny so much.

"I've been wet for too long, and it's not fair that you're already one orgasm ahead of me, but I can tell that it's not going to take me long at all to come. And when you start talking to me, telling me how you want me to touch myself, I can feel you starting to get hard and it makes me come so fast that I can't breathe."

"I collapse forward on your chest and you let me rest for a second before you reach up and undo the clasp of my bra before turning me over so I'm laying down next to you. And at first you're slow, always slow. You take your time looking at me, and I start to squirm a bit. You just laugh that I'm too self-conscious and I make some crack about your ego."

"Then you start to put your hands on me and it's the most delicious sort of torture I can imagine. You use just one finger at first, and even though I whine that it's not fair to make me suffer you simply raise an eyebrow in that 'Are you freakin' kiddin' me?' look of yours."

"I swear it's like your skin's made of electricity, because wherever your finger travels there's this path of fire in its wake, and even though I've barely stopped shuddering from my first orgasm I'm ready for the next one already."

"You take your sweet time, and I know it's going to be a fantastic round when you rein in your excitement to tease me and get me hot all over again. And I keep trying to wordlessly communicate where I want your finger to go next, but you play dumb and just keep trailing it across my skin until finally…you slip it inside me. I can't help it when I groan—it feels so damn good."

"And you give me this grin, like you are the cat's meow. You're teasing me, just pushing it in and out slowly, and you're waiting for me to beg. You start telling me how good you're going to make me feel, how you've been thinking about this all day. But I don't want to beg yet, so I reach down and take you in my hand and start stroking."

"Somehow you manage to find the breath to complain that I am not playing fair, but I see it as fighting fire with fire."

"And it's only been a few minutes but it feels like eternity when you finally say 'enough!' and you pull me over to you so I can finally get my hello kiss before you…"

She trailed off and Danny blinked hard, then when she didn't come back to the phone he pulled it away from his ear and looked at it, and put it back up and he could just make out her breathing.

He had a sinking feeling he knew the answer but he asked the question anyway.

"Before I what, Montana?"

"You tell me…some other night."

And then he heard the sound of silence until the dial tone beeped in his ear. Yep—it was the answer he was expecting.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Um, yeah. Still sticking with the theory that I do not own the characters.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who keeps reading and reviewing. I still maintain that I am blessed with the best reviewers on the whole site. Thanks to those who assured me that they would not spoil season three for me. And no, I haven't gotten the spoilers I have from anyone here. Special thanks to A, Angelique and donaa, whose reviews I could not reply to offline.

A: no, we don't _need_ to get into it but when it's him we _want_ to and I'm pretty sure there's a line for it and I guarantee I'm in it. And I vote for awesomeness to be a word if it isn't. And my spellchecker seems to think it is a word so there you go. I always appreciate your reviews, and seeing your name (er, initial) makes me smile.

Angelique: Thank you so much! I really appreciate that, it means a lot!

donaa: I'm hoping the answer is a lot! Thanks as always for giving me a shout out! I am very thankful for them!

Spoilers: None really but through season two to be safe. Just vague season two, though.

On with the chapter.

* * *

His brain was swirling with all the imagery Lindsay had given him. Her imagination was damn impressive…he hardly knew which image to replay first. But he knew which image he'd be embellishing later, and he grinned as he thought about their next round of phone sex.

_Lindsay begging._

Just the thought of her begging him to fuck her was almost painfully arousing. In fact as he lay in bed stroking himself and thinking about her begging it took him considerably less time to come than it usually did, and when he thought about Lindsay his orgasm was usually pretty fast.

Not that he would ever share that fact with her. And _oh god_, what if they did end up having sex and it was over embarrassingly quick for him?

Before he could have a complete meltdown he assured himself that for starters it wasn't _if_, it was _when_ they had sex. And that when it happened he would be completely consumed with the need to make her beg so that he'd be able to hold off his orgasm.

He nodded to himself and then went back to thinking about their latest episode of phone sex. He could hardly wait to call Lindsay back and detail exactly what he imagined doing to her, but as the team gathered for a post-case debriefing late the next day a new case opened up and Mac had them all sit at the conference table while he went and got the details.

Lindsay sighed as soon as Mac was out of earshot and Danny looked over and caught her eye, grinning as she raised an eyebrow. He pulled his notepad out and wrote a quick note which he passed under the table to her, making sure his fingers grazed hers so he could watch the predictable heat rise in her cheeks when they made contact.

_Aw, looks like no bedtime story for you tonight._

Lindsay grinned as she read the note. Thankfully the rest of the team was deep in a discussion about the latest college football playoff statistics and were uninterested in what she and Danny were doing. She quickly wrote him back.

_You're the one who's going to suffer, having to wait to hear what** I** have to say. But if you're a good boy I'll give you a clue to make your torment a bit more bearable._

His eyebrows rose slightly and he licked his lips as he thought about what to say.

_Oh I can be **very** good, Montana. What did ya have in mind?_

Details of their various fantasies appeared unbidden in her mind's eye and Lindsay flushed scarlet. He had been very good to her indeed. At least in her imagination.

_Why don't you surprise me?_

He grinned and shook his head as Mac walked back in. He pocketed the paper and prepared to give his attention to the task at hand. Afterwards the team went to gather their kits and Danny found himself alone with Lindsay in the locker room for a moment. He went to stand behind her and he caged her in with his arms. She stiffened momentarily and then looked at him over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised in silent query.

"Quit teasin' me, Montana. Gimme the hint."

Her smile was radiant as she turned around. Reaching one finger out she stroked the lapel of his coat.

"Why Danny, the way you said that? Call me crazy but it sounds as if you don't think it's going to be worth the wait."

He leaned into her touch until she was forced to tilt her head back.

"Absolutely…not."

Lindsay laughed and pushed him away. She shrugged as she picked up her kit and walked past him.

"Well then I guess you're just going to have to wait."

_Torture._

Two days of _absolute torture_.

Their case had required all hands on deck for a full forty-eight hours, with no time for sleep. The victims were young children, and those cases always hit the team hard. No one complained about the hours, and in fact they were surprised that the work ended as soon as it did. Usually people who murdered children didn't confess, but this guy did and the team was able to gather all the forensics they needed to back up his confession by working around the clock.

Mac gave them all the next day off, and Lindsay made a point of telling Stella that she just wanted to sleep for about twelve hours, knowing Danny was listening. It wasn't that she didn't want him to call; in fact the thought that his phone call awaited her at the end of the nightmarish shift was what kept her going.

But she needed some down time, needed to decompress alone. She needed a cleansing sleep to help chase away the images of those children. And she knew Danny well enough to know that he needed the same thing, and so she wasn't afraid that he would be upset. As it was Danny waited fourteen hours before he called and began speaking without preamble.

"So you've been a tease since I walked in the door but we're finally makin' progress on gettin' you naked. When you take off your shirt and pants it's a wonder I don't start to drool when I see the almost-nothing you're wearin'. The fact that it's my favorite color is just icing on the very edible cake that is you. I hafta touch you 'cause it seems like maybe I'm asleep, there's no way I've been good enough to you to deserve havin' you on top of me in bed."

Lindsay unexpectedly teared up for a moment. The fact that cocky, swaggering ladies' man Danny could even imagine himself feeling lucky to have Lindsay in bed brought an unexpected warmth to the vicinity of her heart.

"I ask you if you're tryin' to kill me with the image of you in see-through lingerie, 'cause you know I'm gonna be replayin' it over and over again to the point of distraction. But the fact that you didn't get completely naked means that I am a very lucky boy indeed and I make sure that I have a perfect vantage point to watch you."

Lindsay blushed fiercely and shook her head as she reminded herself that Danny wasn't actually with her and that he couldn't see how his words affected her.

"When your hand dips inside your panties I hold my breath for a minute, unable to believe that I get to be here while you pleasure yourself just for me. I always get off on being able to direct your actions, and so I start to whisper what I want you to do."

He paused and let the imagery detail itself in his brain so he could accurately tell Lindsay what he'd have her do, but Lindsay thought Danny was waiting for her input.

"What do you want me to do, Danny?"

As soon as she said it she realized her mistake. The way she said it was as if she were asking Danny for instructions that she was going to immediately carry out. It didn't help matters any that her voice was low and breathy, either, she mused. She sounded like an aroused woman waiting for her lover. Which was only a bit off, she supposed.

She bit her lip and waited for his reply, uncertain which way he was going to take her comment but knowing for sure that if he began to tell her to touch herself she would obey in a heartbeat. The thought aroused her beyond measure.

Danny's breath caught in his throat. Her voice held just a hint of begging and he hadn't even gotten to that point yet. Not that his cock cared. It responded to Lindsay's voice independently of any thought on Danny's part.

He debated what to do with this unexpected development. They had reached a turning point. If he answered her outside of the fantasy, if he told her exactly how he wanted her to touch herself and listened to her as she complied it would undoubtedly make for one of the hottest episodes of phone sex ever.

But the problem was that if he was to do that then he wanted to be there, physically, with her. He wanted to watch her surrender her body to his commands, and be able to see exactly what shade of red she flushed when she came.

They weren't at that point…yet.

It was so tempting to just give in, to talk Lindsay into an orgasm now so that he could replay the sound over and over in his mind. But he wanted to fulfill that fantasy in person more than he wanted the temporary rush he would get from doing it over the phone.

But as he prepared to answer within the fantasy he realized, certainly not for the first time, that they needed to move beyond the phone thing soon, although a nagging voice in the back of his mind wondered if Lindsay was interested in that. For all he knew she was okay with keeping it on the phone lines. He didn't know how to bring it up with her so he resolved to work on it later and hope that inspiration struck. For now he set about returning to the episode at hand.

"There's always so many things I want ya to do that I have to pick carefully. I want you to caress your breasts, Lindsay. Run your palm over them like I do."

As she listened to Danny Lindsay had to clench her hand into a fist to keep it from doing exactly what Danny was imagining.

"Since you're still wearin' a bra I decide to move my attention to the hand that is inside your panties. Slide your finger inside, Linds. Get yourself all hot and wet for me. Baby I love to watch you touch yourself, you know that? It sets me on fire to see you working yourself up to an orgasm."

Part of Lindsay couldn't wait to get off the phone so she could work herself up into a real orgasm.

"Knowin' that I'm gettin' you so hot, knowin' that you're close to comin' for me makes me hard, Linds. And I stop everything to watch you climax, it's amazin' every time. I let you rest on top of me for a few minutes before I decide to keep this round goin'."

"It's time for you to get even closer to naked so I take off your bra and lay you down next ta me. I will never understand why you get shy when I look at ya. I could stare at ya all damned day long, Montana…you're beautiful."

"I will never get tired of touchin' you, and I want to make sure you're gonna be ready for me so I start to tease ya a bit. Instead of caressing you all over with my hands and mouth I just use one finger. And I cannot _believe_ that you have the gall to complain that I am makin' you suffer."

A giggle slipped out of Lindsay's mouth which she quickly stifled and Danny just smiled and shook his head.

"I am about to give up and quit teasin' when you start to squirm, tryin' to get me to move where ya want me to go. And since you won't actually _tell me_ where you need it I just keep it up until I decide I don't wanna wait anymore and I move your panties aside so I can slide my finger inside you. It's a miracle I don't come from the groan you give me, it sounds like I've been makin' ya wait for weeks or somethin', and I love that you want me so much."

"And I love hearin' you beg, Lindsay." For a moment he broke out of the fantasy to confess. "God I wanna hear you beg."

Lindsay whimpered and Danny's groin tightened even further. But before Lindsay could do anything else to try and shatter his control he went back to the fantasy.

"So I know I can getcha to beg me to fuck you like I'd wanted to from the moment I walked in and it's all I can think about. 'Baby, I'm gonna make you feel so good,' I say, 'I've wanted to do this all day long. You're all I've been able to think about. Tell me how you want me to make you come. Tell me what you want me to do.' And just when I think you're gonna give in you start to stroke me and I cannot _believe_ I have to try and convince you to stop but there's no way I'm gonna come again without bein' inside you."

"But you just smile when I tell you it's not fair and I decide that it's been long enough. I move your hand away and pull you over so I can kiss you. I need a moment to regain control and I know the easiest way to do that is to make _you_ lose control."

"I roll us over so that I'm on top of you and you smile at me in that way that means you think you're in charge and that you've got the upper hand but we'll soon see. When I rock my hips against yours you arch up and I grin. I keep it up until you tell me to quit teasing and you order me to take your panties off so that you can get more contact. But I just shake my head no and you growl at me, which is of course a complete fuckin' turn on."

"You move your fingers to your waistband so you can do it yourself but I grab your wrists and pin your hands above your head. I kiss the protest off your lips and you open your mouth to me. I use my tongue to mimic what I'm gonna be doin' to you with my cock and you start to make those noises that tell me you're gettin' close."

"And finally, you give me exactly what I want. You open your mouth and…"

_Click._

He hung up.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Just the standard I am not making any profit, nor do I own the characters.

Spoilers: Vague season two.

Author's Note: To start with, if you guys want or specifically don't want me to review stories of yours please let me know. I don't have a problem being told either way. I know that sometimes it can feel weird to know that someone you review is reading your stuff, too. So it's cool either way.

On to the most important part…Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I sincerely value the time and effort you put in to this story. My extra special thanks go out to those whose reviews I could not reply to offline.

MJ: Wow! I mean, wow! I can't thank you enough for your review. It was really incredible and still has me smiling. I'm ecstatic that you're enjoying the story, and the fact that you feel they're at all in character means the world to me, it really does. You're not at all incoherent, you're wonderful at leaving reviews and I feel so blessed that you decided to start with me!

oddie33325: Obviously it had to end there because I am evil. Yes, I am all-too-often swayed by the Dark Side.

silk1: Ah the old threatening review. I enjoy those just as much as the rest. It cracks me up when people threaten me to get working on my stories, and I appreciate that you had some nice things to say and that you didn't actually threaten me with bodily harm. Thanks!

Angelique: Thank you, my dear! I value your input!

SallyJetson: Man oh man did I love your review! I'm glad that you don't mind the feelings creeping in. Because as much as I love smut (and I am a girl who loves her smut) I also love the idea of falling in love, and Danny/Lindsay are my newest playthings when it comes to exploring l'amore. Thank you so much for the incredibly sweet things you had to say. You're awesome.

zora080393: You know, you're absolutely right! Lol

donnaaa: I'm trying, I'm trying!

A: So I think we can both agree that your "A" definitely stands for awesomeness! Because that is what you are, chock full of awesomeness. I'm sorry they're still not there yet, and that I missed Christmas. But thank you for always saying things that make me smile!

On with the chapter…

* * *

Lindsay blinked harshly as she looked at the phone. Either he had inadvertently hung up or he was trying to exact revenge on _her_ for hanging up.

Either way he was an idiot, clearly.

If he thought he was torturing Lindsay by hanging up he was quite wrong. Lindsay had been about to hang up herself so that she could finally have the orgasm she had been staving off since he started to speak.

She ran her hands over her breasts and down between her thighs as she threw herself into Danny's fantasy. She moaned at the thought of him in complete control over her, she could just see that smirk of his as he used his body as a weapon to convince her to beg him for release. Panting harshly she arched up against her fingers over and over until she screamed his name and collapsed against the bed, falling asleep within minutes.

When the morning came Lindsay frowned into her coffee as she thought about all the phone calls she and Danny had shared.

How much longer could they keep this up? The tension between them was getting to be ridiculous, really. They needed to resolve things one way or another, even though Lindsay had her doubts about their ability to make any sort of progress on an attempt to return to just co-workers.

She abruptly realized that she had no desire to try to go back to being co-workers. At least not without at least trying to be something else first. Even though the risk of losing everything was so great, she knew she would regret it more if she didn't try to see if there could be something between Danny and her.

And the passion between them was enough to ensure that they had at least one unforgettable night, right? She almost giggled at the outrageously conservative estimate. If they re-enacted even half of the things they'd been telling each other they had fuel for weeks…and that was assuming they stayed in bed 24/7.

But there was an enormous problem…work. The fact that they were co-workers was a huge deterrent at this stage, although it did add a forbidden aspect to their would-be relationship that was tantalizing.

Lindsay sighed as she came to the conclusion that if she ever had any hope of anything happening—even a one night stand—then there was someone she had to talk to.

First thing after lunch the next day she knocked on his door and waited for him to acknowledge her with a wave.

"So, uh, Mac, there's kind of something I want to talk to you about…if you've got a minute."

"Sure, Lindsay," he gestured her to a seat, "what's on your mind?"

"Ever since my abduction I've been thinking about…oh geez, this is harder than I thought it was going to be, um, well…"

She trailed off and tried to compose her thoughts. Mac jumped in.

"Is it about your job? Because I think you've been doing really well, I haven't noticed any slips."

Her eyes widened and she felt a warm flush spread through her. _Of course_ Mac would think it was about her job, and it was…although the thoughts of Danny that were teasing her brain at the moment definitely had no place in the workplace. She cleared her throat, hoping it would have a similar effect on her brain.

"No, but thanks for saying that, anyway. Actually, this is kind of embarrassing, but I've been thinking about Danny, er, Messer."

Mac's face scrunched in confusion.

"Danny?"

She nodded. Mac wondered what she was talking about until he noticed the blush on her cheeks. Lindsay could tell the moment Mac realized what she meant and she hurried to speak.

"And before you say anything nothing's happened." _Unless you count those phone calls, their almost-touches, and all the heated glances that were combining to make Lindsay lose her mind_, she thought, but decided Mac didn't need to know that.

"It's just, well, I've been thinking maybe I want something to happen, and it's freaking me out a little, so I wanted to get your advice."

If it weren't so serious to her she would have laughed at the expression on Mac's face.

"My advice? On what, exactly?"

"Well, I'm wondering how I can tell if thinking thoughts like this could just be related to him helping me through the abduction and all."

Mac shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you, Lindsay. I mean, it has been over three months since the abduction, so if you're still thinking about this then maybe it's more than that. Then again, it may be exactly that."

Meanwhile, Danny was making his way to Mac's office. He had some results in that he could use a fresh perspective on, and he knew Mac would be able to help. He took a quick detour past the break room to see if he could find Lindsay first. He hadn't seen her all day and was wondering if she'd want to go to dinner after their shifts. When he didn't find her he decided to go back to Mac's, maybe he'd know where Lindsay was.

Lindsay's head dipped down for a moment.

"Yeah, you're right. And you know…he has no idea I'm thinking about this or anything, so it's probably nothing and I should just forget about it, try to get over it. I mean, it's probably illegal anyway, right?"

That would give her a convenient excuse for dodging these feelings. She was surprised how little of her wanted that statement to be true.

"I try not to get involved in my team's personal lives, but there are exceptions. And one exception is when they aren't doing the work, for whatever reason. So from that standpoint if you were to get involved with Danny and it affected your work then yes, we would have to have a discussion about that."

Danny saw that the door to Mac's office was slightly ajar, and as he approached he could just make out voices. He stopped before he was in front of the window, not wanting to intrude. He strained to hear the conversation, not because he wanted to eavesdrop, but because he hoped to get an idea of how long Mac would be, and if he should wait or leave.

"All of this is of course never going to happen but let's just say hypothetically, it were to? Then I'd hope I'd be the type of person who is able to put the victims first, above anything else."

Mac nodded and gave her a small smile. Outside Danny perked up as he recognized Lindsay's voice and he inched a bit closer.

"From what I've seen of you, Lindsay, I would have to say that I think you are that type of person."

"Thanks, Mac. That means a lot."

She sat for a moment before shaking her head and getting up.

"Well, I'll leave you to your work. Thanks for the talk, I think I'm just going to have to wait and see what happens."

"You're welcome."

Lindsay had just gotten to the door when Mac's voice called her back.

"You know, Lindsay, Danny is a great guy."

What? They were talking about _him_? And Mac was saying he was a great guy? Had hell frozen over and he'd missed the memo? When Lindsay spoke again Danny could hear how her voice changed and it made his pulse race a bit.

"He is, isn't he? You know, I'm not sure I would have been able to get through that night without him."

As her words reached her own ears her eyes widened in horror.

"Not that I'm downplaying what you, Stella, Flack, and Hawkes did, because I'm not. Absolutely I'm not. You know how much I appreciate all that you guys did for me, don't you?"

Danny shook his head and smothered a laugh. That was just like Montana…trying not to piss Mac off. Her rambling was too cute. Mac, however, didn't feel the need to stifle his laughter.

"I understand, Lindsay. You formed a connection with Danny while you were in there. It's perfectly logical that a bulk of your emotional reaction would be tied in to him. It's nothing to feel uncomfortable about."

Lindsay beamed, glad that Mac understood.

"You're right. Danny helped me stay calm, and think—" she faltered for a split second, and Danny's ears burned as he waited helplessly for whatever word was going to come next. He just hoped it wasn't any he thought it could be. "Positive. He helped me think positive. He was the one who got me thinking that the cold was going to disrupt the electricity. I just wish I hadn't taken him…and the rest of you…away from your nights."

"That's what a team does, Lindsay. No one minded, and as for Danny, he must have broken about eighteen laws to make it here as fast as he did when I called about you. And he didn't hesitate for a second when you asked him to stay, Lindsay."

Lindsay and Danny both blushed and Danny wished fervently that Mac would just shut the hell up. Obviously Lindsay had gone in to have a status update regarding her feelings after the kidnapping…she didn't need to hear stuff about him, too.

"He got here fast?"

Danny could hardly believe his ears. If he didn't know any better, he'd have said that Lindsay was fishing for information on how Danny felt about her.

"Yeah, he was the first one here. That may be because all I had time to say was that you were in trouble and I needed him here before he hung up on me."

Lindsay clamped her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.

"He did not…Mac, you're joking me, right?"

Mac's smile became wider.

"Nope."

"Well I'm sure he would have done that for anyone on the team."

"Uh huh," Mac agreed, but Danny could hear him struggling not to laugh. Lindsay cleared her throat.

"At any rate, part of my speedy recovery was having him as my anchor to get me through. And he's checked up on me a lot since then, which has been nice, too."

_Checking up?_ Danny chuckled. Is _that_ what they were calling their phone sex sessions?

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I capitulated. This chapter originally had no smut in it, but after receiving so many wonderful reviews asking for the next chapter to be hotter than the previous one I gave it some thought and caved.

Spoilers: The vaguest of vague season two.

Disclaimer: Just the ideas. The characters belong in someone else's toy box.

SallyJetson: I'm pretty sure I wrote you a PM but if it went to your junk box let me know. Thank you so very much! Your review was one of the nicest I've gotten and I really am grateful for all the nice things you had to say. I'm delighted that you found so many things in the chapter that you liked. It's always refreshing to hear that the emotional stuff is appreciated, as well as any time I happen to make the characters seem in character. Thank you for taking the time to let me know you're here, and for sharing your thoughts with me.

A: What does GLE mean? Yes, I totally agree with you. Mac and Lindsay are very parent/kid. (I never read about them as a couple….just so wrong) Isn't Danny great? I love to write him, he just cracks me up. I appreciate what you had to say about my Mac, too. I'm happy that you enjoy the way I portray him. And I wouldn't know about your fic writing talent or lack thereof, seeing as I only get anonymous reviews from you but I'd be willing to wager you can more than hold your own! Thank you so much as always, for reviewing. You make me feel good.

On with the chapter…

* * *

Danny took her statement as his cue to leave. Obviously, he'd have to wait a while before going back to Mac's office, and he certainly couldn't be caught outside. He went back to the lab and started in on another procedure.

As he gathered the evidence and all the necessary testing materials he smiled to himself. Lindsay had taken his hang-up with her usual grace, and hadn't even called him on it the next night. She did, however, torture him by not continuing on with the fantasy already in play.

He recalled their latest late night session. Lindsay had made him groan and clench his jaw with her vivid and amazingly detailed description of them fooling around on a subway train.

* * *

"So you were a very bad boy to me," Lindsay said in lieu of hello when she read her caller ID.

"And what did I do?" Danny asked, assuming she was referring to the hang up and ready to point out the number of times she had done the same thing.

"You tricked me into wearing that dress when you knew it was going to be way out of place where we were going," she answered.

Danny knew what dress she was referring to and he realized she was speaking in a fantasy…a new one.

That must mean she had decided to punish him for hanging up on her.

_Oh god. _

He was hard already and she hadn't even done anything but bring forth the image of her in that dress. _That dress.._

"You know which one I'm talking about, don't you Danny? I was wearing it the night we processed the subway surfer's murder? The one I wear that black lace corset under so my breasts almost spill out of the top? I'm sure you must have noticed it when I bent down to put my case on the ground," Lindsay told him, her voice almost a purr.

Damn her. _She had known what she was doing that night._ Until this moment Danny had assumed that he had inadvertently gotten a glimpse down her dress. Knowing she had done it on purpose, for him, made him want her all the more.

"How did I trick you?" Danny asked, waiting to commit her answer to memory in the faint hope that he would be able to use it again on her. Lindsay laughed.

"Nice try. Let's just say you told me it was our first formal occasion together but you neglected to mention that you considered our first Yankees' night game to be a formal occasion."

Danny chuckled.

"Yeah laugh it up now, because you certainly weren't laughing when I opened the door wearing it. In fact, I'm surprised we made it out of the apartment," she said and Danny was quick to agree with her.

"I take it that was more your choice than mine, 'cause believe me, I would gladly pass up the Yanks for a shot at gettin' you outta that dress."

Lindsay blushed and smiled.

"When I open the door I'm confused but you're not paying a bit of attention to what I'm saying. You just close the door behind you and let your eyes roam all over me. Once I realize you're content to just stare at me I cross my arms and lean back against the wall."

"Finally you look in my eyes and I quirk an eyebrow, wondering if you're going to explain why you have on your Yankees attire while I spent hours getting ready for something else. But you don't say anything, you just smile and twist your ball cap around before you close the distance between us and kiss me."

"As usual I get lost for a few minutes and before I know it you've got your hand on my thigh, holding my leg around your waist as you rock against me. I break the kiss and shake my head when you try to recapture my lips."

"And you try to convince me that we have no need to go anywhere other than to bed, or hell, you're happy to do it right there but I spent way too long on this outfit and so I announce that we're going to the game, and that you're going to have to make this up to me somehow."

"The attention I get at the ball park makes me uncomfortable and you're pissed because I'm getting quite a lot of _admiration_, shall we say, from the other males around us."

Danny clenched his jaw, annoyed at the non-existent men at the non-existent game who were daring to leer at Lindsay.

"I can tell that you want to knock a few heads together," Lindsay continued, aware that Danny was getting agitated, " So I lean over and whisper 'As soon as the game's over I want you to take me home and fuck me raw'. You're about to reply but that's when I slide your hand up my thigh and let you discover that I'm not wearing any underwear."

Danny groaned, he couldn't help it. In the span of a heartbeat Lindsay had managed to completely flip his switch. One moment he wanted to throttle someone, the next he wanted to bury himself inside of Lindsay and make her scream.

"It's difficult to make it through the game because you keep whispering what you're going to do as soon as we're alone. Every time the crowd cheers you take the opportunity to tease me some more. To outsiders it probably looks like a guy explaining the game to his girl, but it's nothing even remotely that innocent. I've been regretting this decision since the moment we entered the ballpark, I just want to get home as quickly as possible but as we leave I have no idea what you're planning."

"And getting back is what I thought you wanted too, but when we make it to the subway platform you refuse to get on the train. When I ask you why you shrug and tell me that you don't want all those people pushing into me and wrinkling my dress. So you sit down and pull me onto your lap and we wait on an hour's worth of trains. Even though it's a subway station and it's late it's still nice to just sit with you, and I begin to believe that you teasing me throughout the game was just your way of getting back at me for what I did to you."

"You set me up good and boy do I fall for it. You've never stopped touching me since we sat down but it's just a hand rubbing up and down my back, fingers massaging my neck, playing with my hair, innocuous things that lull me into a false sense of peace, make me start to think about sleeping instead of shouting your name until I'm hoarse."

"Finally you nod your chin toward the oncoming train and I get up and walk over, loving the feel of your hand splayed across my lower back, guarding me. It's safe and warm and I'm thinking how lucky I am. We step inside the train and you do an interior sweep with your eyes. I look too and see that there's no one else on board and I'm about to ask you if anything's wrong when you pick me up and carry me over to the door that separates the trains."

"My legs wrap around your waist on instinct and my back is suddenly pressed against the door. I have no chance to say anything before your lips are on mine and the moment you kiss me all that desire comes rushing back full force. Your fingers grip my chin and you force me to open my mouth to you and I whimper because I know what this is. This is what you do to announce that you will be dominating me, that whatever you want I will give you, and it's always the biggest fucking turn on there is."

Danny almost came right there and then.

"_Fuck_, Linds," he rasped out and she bit her lip at the arousal she could hear.

"And I realize that forcing you to go to the game was probably the best decision I've made in a while. _'Do you know how much I hated watching those guys leer at you?'_ you ask me with your lips against my throat. I say yes. When you get like this all I can say is 'yes.' Yes to whatever you say to me, yes to whatever you ask, yes as I come for you over and over again. You bite down, almost hard enough to break the skin, definitely hard enough to leave a fantastic mark."

"'_Do you know how much I wanted to fuck you right there in the stands, in front of everyone?_' you ask as your hand goes underneath my dress and my yes becomes a hiss as you slam your fingers into me. _'Do you want me to fuck you now? Right here, up against this door?'_ And _god_ I'm so close to coming I shout yes. You lean up and bite the mark you just made and I come so hard I slam my head against the door. Which of course makes you freak out just a bit and you move us over to a seat so you can have both hands free to look at my head."

"_'Are you okay?_' you ask and I say yes and you look at me for a moment before you grin and rest my head on your shoulder. I just hum for a moment, enjoying the endorphin high of my climax and the feeling of straddling you but before I can come down your hand goes back under my dress and you're thrusting your finger inside me again. I jerk upright as a new wave washes over me and your other hand kneads my breast through my dress."

"'_Pull your dress down'_ you tell me and it's a bit of a reach, not to mention damn near impossible to concentrate when you're stroking me, but I manage to unzip it and pull it down. _'Unzip your corset'_ you demand and as soon as I do you brush aside the fabric and start to caress me. You're working one finger in and out of me in time with the fingers that are playing with my breast, and I'm working back up to another orgasm. But you pull your finger out of me and tell me to suck it. You want to watch me taste myself while you lower your mouth to my chest and start sucking on my nipple."

"God_damn_, Montana," Danny choked out, unable to believe he hadn't spontaneously combusted.

"And then…tag," she said, as if she hadn't heard him.

_What?_ He wondered if he heard her correctly. His voice was dubious.

"Tag?"

Lindsay laughed.

"Yes. As in _'tag, you're it'_, Danny. Goodnight."

* * *

In the light of day of course the thought of fooling around in one of the dirtiest areas of New York lost a bit of its appeal, but he figured if it was Lindsay he'd suck it up.

And then he had to stop the laugh that threatened to emerge from his throat. _Suck it up_, indeed. He shook his head, amused with himself and already looking forward to sharing his latest witty pun with Lindsay.

Then he frowned as he realized that sharing the comment would be breaking the rules. Not that he and Lindsay had ever actually made up a set of rules as to how to deal with the situation between them. It was more like an unspoken code they adhered to.

They never shared fantasies that involved them at work. It was as if that was the cardinal of the unwritten rules—another one being that they never brought up the fantasies later. They left them on the phone lines.

Danny pursed his lips as he thought about having sex with Lindsay at work. Hauling her off behind the lockers, in the break room, a steamy shower stall, perhaps? But before his mind could go too far into overdrive he contemplated _why_ they never shared work fantasies…because they were co-workers first, before anything else.

It was the anything else portion of that statement that Danny had been pondering with more than a little touch of obsession as of late. He wanted Lindsay…_god, he wanted her_…but he was all too aware of the fact that they had passed the point where they could have engaged in a one night stand some time ago.

They could have maybe had a fling that first week she transferred, gotten over it and settled for being co-workers who once slept together. But once they became friends things complicated themselves and it all snowballed to the point where it was now…where Danny recognized that anything that happened between them was going to affect the team as a whole.

And that meant he had to talk to Mac.

He'd rather go dumpster-diving naked.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Author's note: An extra long chapter for the extra long time it took me to get this out. kicks self in head And no I STILL have not seen Season Three and while I have definite plans to I really want to get this done so again please keep me spoiler free!!!

On a side note my entire hard drive got wiped and I lost every single PM that was sent to me. So if you sent me one that I have not replied to as of you reading this then I profusely apologize….it's gone!

Is there a way to save them on here?

And now for the reviews I could not get to online:

A: LOL about the typo! I thought for sure you had a new internet slang term that I was going to get to learn! I'm glad that you were a happy pile of goo, for a sad pile of goo is just…sad. Thanks as always for your review. You are sunshine!

SallyJetson: Sent you an email, babe! Let me know if you didn't get it!

Nena: I'm hoping you mean evil in the good way, right? And I'm totally down with being your hero! Do I get a costume and an alter ego? That would be sweet! And I hope I haven't ruined you…you're too sweet for such a fate! Thanks for reviewing!

Hey: Hey back! Sorry this wasn't soon by anyone's definition and I will do better! I do appreciate the request, though!

Disclaimer: Forgot to add this, mainly because it's ludicrous to think I own them. But okay, I willingly fess up…..don't own 'em.

* * *

The next day he went to Mac's office as soon as he arrived but Mac was on the phone with his back to the door so Danny took a few steps out of earshot and set about thinking how to ask Mac about this topic. He began to walk to the length of the area rug back and forth, willing any higher power for insight as to how to broach the subject.

"Danny? Is there a reason you're pacing outside my office like a rabbit on speed?"

Danny startled, having been too caught up in how to phrase his request to notice that Mac was finished with his phone call and was now leaning against the door jam, watching him with his usual intensity.

Danny nodded but made no move to cross the distance to Mac's office. Mac frowned.

"Danny? Would you like to come into my office?"

Danny again nodded and this time made his feet move until he had stepped inside Mac's office, where he studied his shoes until Mac closed the door and seated himself behind the desk.

"So Danny…how can I help you?"

Danny bit his lip and looked heavenward, debating the merits of what he was about to do. He felt like such a mook, and if had been anyone else but Lindsay he wouldn't even have made it as far as the building today, let alone to the point where he was standing silent as one of those mimes he always debated tripping trying to figure out how to bring this up.

Mac studied Danny, trying to figure out why his young CSI seemed so rattled.

"Danny?"

Danny heaved a great sigh and stuffed his hands into his pockets, again casting his gaze to the floor as he spoke.

"Gawd this is so embarrassing but I wanted to get your advice."

Mac nodded but Danny wasn't looking at him.

"My advice? On what?"

When Danny replied it was almost a mumble.

"Dating."

"Dating?"

Later Danny would reflect that this was the one time in his life that he'd seen Mac completely lose the calm and collected demeanor that characterized his entire being. Mac positively gaped at him with his jaw dropped open.

The slip in composure lasted all of a second, but it was there nonetheless.

But at the time Danny only registered it in the very back of his subconscious, way too focused on getting in, getting help, and getting out. And once he confessed his reason for being there it was as if the floodgates opened and he began to babble, much to his chagrin.

"Yes. Specifically, dating Montana. More specifically, whether or not I should even attempt to. Even more specific, how soon you can get me a transfer when she shoots me down. Actually—"

"Danny. Slow down for a moment. I want you to take a deep breath."

Danny put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it in a rush.

"Okay. Now I want you to sit down and start at the beginning. What's going on?"

"Gawd, Mac, I don't even know. It's just that—"he broke off and frowned, trying in vain to gather his thoughts. He plunked himself down in a chair and let his head tip backwards until he was staring at the ceiling. "Ever since the kidnapping I've been having these feelings for Lindsay."

He shook his head as he got out of the chair and started to pace again.

"That's not entirely true, Mac," he said as he raked a hand through his hair.

Mac privately thought the gesture made him look like an annoyed porcupine but kept it to himself and forced his features into the calm demeanor he usually portrayed. The fact that Danny was so obviously smitten with Lindsay was there for everyone to see. But for Mac knowing Danny realized that anything that happened between them would affect the whole team, that he was able to step outside of his emotions and ask for help before doing anything, well that realization made Mac as proud as he could be. Danny was really maturing, and here was the proof.

"The truth is that I've kind of had a thing for Montana since day one," Danny confessed with a sheepish smile, "But I wasn't gonna do anything about it. I was okay with us being friends and all but now I don't know. Ever since the kidnapping it's like none of the whys I've been tellin' myself mean a damn thing. It's like all I want is the chance to be with her, to see if I can make her happy. And the strange thing is that I think I can, Mac, and that scares the shit outta me."

He looked over at Mac and collapsed back into his seat.

"Gawd I sound like such an idiot, don't I?" he asked with a self-deprecating laugh.

Mac shook his head.

"You do sound like a fool, Danny," he said and it was all he could do not to laugh when Danny's face fell, "a fool in love."

Then he didn't bother to try to conceal his laugh at Danny's deer-in-the-headlights expression. He decided to take pity on him.

"Lindsay's a great girl and you'd be lucky to have her return your affections. I'm assuming you're here because you're afraid of what a relationship between the two of you would mean for the team. So let me tell you that I do not make it a point to get involved in my team's personal lives. The lives I care about are those that we protect during our time here. As long as you are doing the work, and performing it to the standards we maintain, then I do not have a problem with members of the team dating. However, should your work be affected then we will have a talk about it, make no mistake."

Danny nodded and struggled with the sense of buoyancy that Mac's words had given him. Part of him had been sure that Mac would put the kibosh on any plan to date Lindsay, so having in essence his blessing filled Danny with a restless energy that he realized wouldn't be dissipated until he asked Lindsay out.

"You're off today, aren't you?" Mac's voice cut into his thoughts.

Danny shook his head as if to dislodge the cobwebs before he nodded.

"Um yeah, yeah I am. Why?"

"I think it'd be a nice gesture on your part to cover the rest of Lindsay's shift. Ask her out and if she says yes tell her that you're going to finish up so she can have some time off to go pamper herself and get ready."

Danny's eyes widened and he smiled, nodding his head.

"Damn, Mac. That's a great idea. Thanks."

Mac barely resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.

"You don't have to act so surprised, Danny. I have been known to have a few good ideas on occasion. Even ones that involve impressing the fairer sex."

"Aw, Mac. I didn't mean—"

But Mac waved off the apology and shooed Danny out the door.

"Go find her."

Danny nodded and practically bounced out the door. Mac's voice momentarily halted his progress.

"Good luck, Danny."

Danny grinned and saluted Mac before he took off down the hallway. Once he was out of Mac's sight he slowed his pace and set about developing his plan of attack.

How should he talk to her about this? Should he announce that they needed to talk? Did he bring it up on the phone? He dismissed that idea immediately. Talking on the phone was too…he didn't know what word to use, but he realized that the conversation warranted a face-to-face chat regardless.

He decided to just play it by ear. Whenever he saw her next he would just go with his gut and bring up the topic in whatever way seemed organic to the conversation. As he made his way to the lab he saw her exiting a nearby door. Paper in hand, her brow was furrowed as she read over the results.

"Hey Linds," Danny called out softly, hoping to keep the probing eyes to a minimum.

Lindsay's head shot up when she heard Danny's voice. She smiled at the expression on his face. He seemed happy, happier than she'd seen him in a long time. No, that wasn't it exactly, she decided as she looked closer. It was like he just heard really good news. She nodded to herself at the description and decided to tease him a bit.

"You look like Christmas came early this year."

He began to walk towards her and the look in his eyes reminded her of the morning after their first phone sex escapade. The closer he came the more the happiness became colored with want. Suddenly a random thought hit her.

"Aren't you off today? What brings you in?"

"I think it's about time we see what happens when we touch, Montana."

Her eyes widened and her face flushed. When she continued to just look at him Danny smiled. While not exactly the suave way he imagined bringing it up, he couldn't deny that he was pleased to see her obvious reaction to his statement.

"You don't want to? Why not? Are you satisfied with what we've got goin' on now?"

She blinked at him and opened her mouth but no words came out. He took another step towards her.

"'Cause I gotta tell you I'm not sure I can last too much longer without knowin' how you taste."

"But what if…" she broke off, not sure which qualm was going to get voiced first.

He leaned in, torturing himself with the proximity yet almost delirious at the thought that soon he would finally get to see if they would indeed ignite if ever they got together.

Lindsay read his intentions and placed a hand on his chest to hold him back. His glance dropped to her hand and then flicked to her face. He quirked a brow at her.

"You're going to have our first kiss be here in the lab?" she asked in a tone that clearly indicated her disbelief at the notion.

"No, I am not. Haven't you learned yet that I do indeed possess an imagination?"

She blushed as that statement called forth some of the more provocative images he'd come up with over the past few weeks. She pulled her hand back to her side.

"Sorry."

He nodded and smirked.

"Apology accepted. Now you need to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Go home and get ready for our first date."

She beamed at him and he felt like he could fly to the moon if she asked him to.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. And before you say anything about leaving early I already talked to Mac—"

"I talked to him too," she interrupted, the thought out before she could censor it.

That stopped him cold.

"You did? About this?"

_Mac spilled the beans about the date? That doesn't seem his style. Not to mention categorically impossible since I just saw him. What, did he like text Lindsay "Danny wants u. B ready 4 a date?"_

She reddened and looked away.

"Um, well, not exactly…"

When it became clear that she was happy to remain silent he shook his head.

"Um, well, what exactly did you talk about?" he mocked, and she pulled a face at him. He waited and frowned a bit when she took a few hesitant steps backwards.

"I told him that I maybe wanted something to happen between us, and I wanted to make sure that I went to him before it did."

She dipped her head down and for a moment Danny blanked out. He cleared his head of the questions that raised and focused on the important one.

"And what did he tell you?"

"That you were a great guy and that as long as our work didn't suffer he wasn't going to get involved."

At the words 'great guy' it clicked in Danny's head that he'd been there when Lindsay talked to Mac. Then it dawned on him what her confession meant—that she wanted to be with him, too. He crossed over to her and tilted her face up to his.

"I talked to him, too, about this."

Lindsay brought her eyes back up to meet his.

"Yeah?"

He nodded.

"What did he say?"

"Pretty much the same as you, except he told me that you're a terrific girl and that I'd be lucky to have you."

She colored and dipped her head down again, but Danny lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes for a moment.

"So…we both want this."

She nodded and smiled and he abruptly stepped back and twisted his head away.

"You better go. I'll finish up here."

She was confused and started to step toward him until he held up a hand.

"Linds, I'm serious. If you do not want our first kiss and our first everything-I-plan-to-do-after-that to happen right now you need to go and get ready. I'll pick you up at seven."

She smiled and left without a word. If she hurried she could just make it to the lingerie shop before they closed.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Nope…I got nothing 'sides an idea I'm doing my darndest to execute.

Author's Note: Oh I know. Trust me, I know. But I do appreciate everyone who has stayed with me.

To my girl DKM…I miss you!

* * *

Lurker—I know! I know! Why is it more fun to be eeeeeeeevil?

GinaJas—it's okay if you don't want to sign in, as long as you eventually read this and realize I thanked you! I'm sorry I keep going away; I really will try not to do that.

DCS—the rest is yeah, I don't have a great answer for that except to say that it is coming, I swear. Thank you!

Quintessence of Darkness—I really appreciate all the nice things you had to say. It made me do my human tomato impression which doesn't sound like a good thing but trust me, in this case I'm all too happy to do it!

Nikkilou—Why thank you! Glad you like it!

taz345—Hi. Thanks! Probably not soon enough, lol!

Katy—I appreciate you not complaining, and your stoic patience is a wonderful characteristic of your personality. I am truly sorry that I let you down with the complete lack of soon by anyone's standards, and I shall endeavor to learn from the error of my ways. Thank you, Katy.

Nena—and stuff? What kind of stuff? Maybe cookies? Cookies could be stuff, right? You know that's how the Dark Side got me.

Stacey—I really will finish it, I promise! Thank you!

Isanoot—yes it really has, hasn't it? Yikes! hangs head I'm sorry.

Jillcobb—yes, I have every intention of finishing this. No teasing, I think one, maybe two more chapters and we'll have a done deal.

* * *

On with the chapter…

* * *

Lindsay burst through the door, juggling packages and dropping her keys as she reached behind her and closed the door with her foot. She'd been completely thrown to discover that the lingerie shop she frequented carried no green items…nothing! Not a single emerald colored pair of panties or a bra or anything.

So she'd spent more time than she had planned trying on different options, finally settling on a sapphire bra and panty set that reminded her of Danny's eyes. She certainly hoped he appreciated the effort when he saw it, especially now that she was going to be cutting it pretty close to be ready for him when he finally made his appearance.

She tried not to rush too much through her routine but still managed to nick her leg and she rolled her eyes as she applied a bit of toilet paper to the cut.

"Fantastic," she muttered as she set about blow drying her hair.

As she pulled out the new lingerie she couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation rush up and down her spine. After all this time they were finally taking the next step. She stood in front of the mirror and critiqued her appearance even more critically now than she had in the store's dressing room.

Were her boobs too small?

Was her ass too big?

Was this set one that would actually make Danny pause to take it in, or would it be seen instead as just another bra and panty set, and thus would be considered an obstacle to be removed, with no consideration for the difficulty in its purchase?

Deciding that freaking herself out was in no way going to help this date go smoothly she chose instead to focus on the fact that she had the power to make Danny pay attention to the lingerie, if she needed to. She nodded in agreement with her internal voice when a sudden thought occurred to her…Danny hadn't actually asked her out. He had, as a replacement for the act of formally questioning her, chosen to merely state that they were going on a date.

No question.

No worries.

Just an assumption that she would do, well, exactly what she was did. She would run around frantically, trying to make sure that she did everything she could to make this date a success.

This attitude of Danny's was not going to fly. She was not at his beck and call, willing to jump through hoops and do whatever was necessary to hold his attention. Oh no, she concluded with a mischievous grin, Danny needed a reminder that he was putty in her hands.

And she knew just what that reminder was going to be.

Satisfied that she had a plan in place she set about the task of getting herself ready. When the intercom buzzer sounded she dropped her shoe in fright. Rolling her eyes and berating her nerves she hobbled over to the button.

"Come on up," she called out, congratulating herself on her voice sounding steady.

As she waited for his reply Lindsay hopped on one foot, trying in vain to get her shoe buckled.

"I can't," his voice came back, sounding tinny through the speaker.

That made her stop moving altogether. She leaned into the button, looking at it as if she was staring at Danny himself, a frown marring her features.

"Why not?" she asked, hand on her hip and a thousand frustrated replies swarming through her mind.

For a moment there wasn't a response and then Lindsay swore she could hear him grin as he gave her a long drawn out sigh.

"'Cause if I come up, then we're not gonna leave for a long, long time and temptin' as it is, it just ain't in the cards at the moment."

She released the button so he wouldn't hear her laugh. The nerve! Making her freak out, thinking maybe he had changed his mind or something, and instead he wants to set her up for a comment like that.

Meanwhile Danny was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, trying to calm his nerves but to no avail. He couldn't believe he was just moments away from his first date with Montana. Even though he'd entertained the notion of dating somewhere in the back of his mind he never believed it would happen. He thought their jobs would get in the way for sure, or barring that Lindsay would simply shoot him down.

But now that she'd agreed and he was about to embark on something he had once only dreamed of he couldn't help but feel a jittery anticipation coursing through his veins. Not only was he worried that his plans for the night would fail to impress Lindsay but he was worried about kissing her goodnight.

And that wasn't even a foregone conclusion at this point, it was still a maybe. Because if Lindsay wasn't impressed with what he'd cooked up then there was no chance she was going to want to kiss him, let alone agree to a second date.

Although he certainly felt that there was ample chemistry between them, enough to fuel the lab for weeks, he recognized that all the flirting and phone sex could very well have spoiled any chance they had for any sort of connection based in the real world.

They could have built up the expectations for each other so much that they were simply insurmountable when faced with the reality of who they actually were. Danny may want to mark Lindsay up, for instance, may want to lay a visible claim to her body that stated with no ambiguity that she belonged to someone.

He might want to see hickeys on her neck, bite marks on her collarbone, razor burn on her jaw line but the truth was that Lindsay may not be so agreeable to the idea. Or when looking at it from a practical standpoint it would be pretty unprofessional for her to appear at work bearing such marks.

Not that this stopped him from thinking about it, mind you.

The door to her building opened and when Lindsay stepped outside, shielding her eyes with her hand from the sun so she could see him, and gave him a warm welcoming smile all doubts fled from Danny's mind and all that was left was this sense of euphoria that finally she was his.

"Hey Montana," he greeted her softly, taking a moment to catalog her appearance from head to toe. "You look great."

She pirouetted for him, finishing the impromptu move with her own once-over of his chosen attire.

"Thanks," she told him with a smile, "you look pretty great yourself."

She realized that he was standing next to a waiting cab and she gestured to it with a finger.

"Is that for us?" she asked and he nodded.

He opened the door for her but stopped her from getting in. He took a deep breath and drew out a long black sash from his suit jacket pocket. She looked at it for a moment before realizing with a start that it was a blindfold. She raised wide eyes to him.

"I want ya to be surprised," he told her and it was only the rise of color in his cheeks that made her agree to it.

She got into the cab and dutifully turned towards him when he sat down next to her. She closed her eyes as he laid the fabric across her field of vision and barely suppressed the shudder when his fingers tickled the skin of her neck as he reached behind her to secure the knot.

"You have any idea what kinds of thoughts this is givin' me?" he whispered into her ear and she froze for a moment, not having expected him to be that close.

She smiled and settled herself back into the seat, wanting to appear to be as controlled as possible despite the fact she could feel her pulse race. Not to mention she needed a moment to banish all of the thoughts that it was likewise giving her.

"You're the one who declined to come up to my apartment, remember?" she teased him with a smile.

They drove for what felt like a few blocks at least, with the cab's radio filling in the quiet with soft talk radio that only served to make Lindsay all the more acute of the silence between them. _When in doubt, try for funny_…she decided.

"So do you subject all of your dates to some degree of sensory depravation?" she queried, feeling the nerves in her stomach tangle themselves into knots.

His surprised laugh served to help her relax slightly. He was obviously pretty in his head about this whole thing.

"Actually I usually wait to break out the blindfold but you're a special case, Miss Monroe. I gotta bring my A-game with you—this I know, and so I have to up the ante. Which reminds me," he paused and she could hear him rummaging around for a minute. "I need to do one more thing to make sure this really is a surprise for you. Will you trust me enough to let me do something to you without knowing what it is?"

She could hear the hopefulness in his voice and could tell that he was excited about showing her what he had in mind for the evening. She hesitated for a moment and then nodded. After another moment had passed she felt his finger trace the skin just above her upper lip, and it left a tingling, vanilla-scented sensation in its wake. She knew what that was! It was that stuff, oh the whatchamacallit that they discovered in the case with the thing! She cursed her nerves for upsetting the delicate nature of her usually steel trap mind…it was the stuff that obscured the olfactory sense.

He'd definitely put some planning into this, she mused. It was clear that he'd gone to some lengths to try and make this date memorable for her. Even if it ended up being something typical like dinner she was sure to have vivid memories of it if only because of the blindfold and the whatever it was called that he put on her to ensure she couldn't use her keen observation skills and spoil the surprise.

She just hoped that her reactions lived up to his expectations. That was part of what was causing the butterflies in her stomach to act up. He'd planned on something that he hoped would surprise her…she just didn't want to let him down by not being as enthusiastic about the idea as he'd planned on.

But then the cab came to a stop and all her worries fought against each other to occupy the front of her mind. While she waited for him to exit the cab and pay the driver she sent a quick prayer heavenward that her response was going to be everything Danny was hoping for and then some.

As he took her outstretched hand to help her alight from the cab he was struck by the memory of the first time he'd ever held her hand. It had been a rather pathetic ploy on his part to get some kind of physical contact which would hopefully give him an idea whether or not there was anything between them. Then, like now, his thought had been that her hand felt as if it fit in his. He didn't feel the need to get all mushy and say it felt like they were two parts of the same puzzle or anything, just that they fit. He still felt like that summed them up pretty well.

They traveled in relative quiet for awhile, walking together with Danny holding her hand and breaking the silence every now and again with a request to be careful with her footing. It was an unusual way to spend a date but Lindsay could honestly say that she'd never been on one quite like this. She was surprised to feel that the silence between them wasn't oppressive but instead was rather companionable.

As they came to a stop and Danny gently grasped her shoulders to angle her body just so Lindsay felt that sense of camaraderie vanish and instead all of the nerves that had finally settled down became re-agitated. She took a nice deep calming breath and forced herself to keep her eyes closed when Danny removed the blindfold, wanting instead to make sure she waited for his signal.

"Oh, Danny," she cried softly when he let her open her eyes, clasping her hands to her heart. "I never would have pegged you for being such a romantic!"

They were at the Zoo.

Specifically they were outside of the tiger cage and there, just off to the side, was a blanket and a picnic basket. The tips of Danny's ears burned crimson and he ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck for a minute.

"Yeah, well, don't let it get out. I wouldn't do this for just anybody, you know."

And this was one of those moments. One of those times that Lindsay had read about, or heard from a friend, or seen in a movie. An instant where everything aligned in a way that was surreal when trying to describe it but when one was engaged within it it felt more real than anything ever had before. Lindsay could almost see the encounter happen from an outsider's perspective, knew before she responded exactly what was going to happen when she did and was giddy at the rush of sensations she experienced.

She crossed the feeble distance between them and kissed him, dropping her purse by her feet so she could have both arms free to wrap around his neck. It was 'thank you', 'hello', and 'I've been waiting' all wrapped up into one. His lips felt warm and softer than she'd imagined, and she struggled to keep the contact from devolving into a passion-fueled attack, wanting instead to just let Danny know that she appreciated what he'd done and that she was very interested in pursuing what was going on between them.

Danny's head was swimming…how was it possible that she tasted better than he'd imagined she would?

It wasn't until Lindsay deliberately gentled the kiss in what was obviously a prelude to ceasing contact that Danny realized he'd merely been responding to Lindsay. Which was all well and good, especially seeing as she'd been the instigator. But if she thought she was going to get away without Danny giving her a taste of what was going through his mind then she was nuts, plain and simple. And to that end he waited until she had actually begun to pull away before he abruptly pulled her close and reclaimed her lips. Danny kissed her passionately, sucking and nibbling until he was let into Lindsay's mouth on a gasp. His hand weaved its way into Lindsay's hair pressing her head closer to his own. He moaned softly as Lindsay's hand gripped his shirt to draw him closer.

"Mmm, Danny," she sighed into his mouth and arched into him more, closing whatever millimeters of space may have remained between them.

At that point, he'd settle for any surface he could back into and use to hold her in place while he focused on pounding all his pent-up lust into her. But that wasn't the plan and so it was with a very heartfelt groan that he prepared to get them back to the original way things were supposed to play out, knowing that it was going to be worth it in the end, even if his body was insisting that he was a class one moron.

"I cannot _believe_ I'm sayin' this but we gotta stop."

She would have thought she was doing something wrong if not for the fact that he kissed her between every word and made no move to actually cease their make-out session.

"Danny?" she questioned even as she sought out his mouth for a kiss.

"Mmm?" he murmured along her jaw line, working his way down her neck.

"You said you wanted to stop?" she gasped out as he touched a sensitive spot.

"No, I didn't," he insisted as he kissed a line back up to her lips.

"But you said—" she persisted but he silenced her with a finger laid across her lips.

"I said we _had_ to stop. There is no _wantin'_ to stop in my vocabulary when it comes to you."

Well that deserved some serious kissing, as far as Lindsay was concerned. So she set about making him forget this silly notion of stopping by applying her mouth and a considerable amount of enthusiasm for the task.

She fisted a hand in Danny's hair, and angled her head just so, providing an invitation Danny couldn't resist. He opened his mouth and slid his tongue, hot and slick, against hers. He slowly made a move to pull back and Lindsay took the opportunity to bite his bottom lip and when he responded by grabbing her hips and pulling them flush together Lindsay gasped and exhaled the most obscene little moan Danny had ever heard. He wrenched her away quickly, holding her at arms length. When she tried to move forward he shook his head.

"If we keep going then I'm gonna throw all my plans out the window, which is fine, except that we gotta go to work tomorrow," he panted out, forcing himself to look away.

"And?" She didn't exactly see the problem.

He chanced a glance at her and laughed at her petulant frown and the sound was joyous enough that Lindsay cracked a smile.

"If you think that I'm gonna settle for our first time together bein' anything other than a full 24 hours in bed you, my dear Miss Monroe, are crazier than I ever thought you were."

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End of chapter


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Yes, yes. I own the situations but not our beloved characters.

Spoilers/Warnings: Nothing past early season two so there you go.

Author's notes: Thanks ever so much to those who continue to find this worth their time. I'm thinking this is the penultimate chapter, btw. If I haven't left you a review let me know—it's usually the last thing I do before I go to sleep so it's always a possibility that I have missed someone and I'd like to make it up as soon as I can.

Liquorish—You crack me up. I love being haunted by you.

ODDIE33325—Thank you so much for your lovely review. I too was disheartened (still am) by the show's treatment of this OTP but then I reminded myself that I could take solace in fanfiction and indeed get a thrill from writing non-canon like I do for some other fandoms. Anyhoo your review made me smile from ear-to-ear and I appreciate it and you very much! Thank you!!

v—Yes, this was not soon so I apologize. And I thank you for taking the time to check in with me. Thanks!

tori 2190—Thank you! I'm so pleased you're enjoying this!

SR—As you can see, no, it is not! Thanks for asking!

On with the chapter…

* * *

Lindsay sighed as she unbuckled her heels and flexed her pained toes which had adamantly protested their confinement. She couldn't believe her night. More specifically, she couldn't believe that she and Danny had begun to make out only to somehow find the strength to stop before they moved on to sleeping together. Which considering they were outside at the zoo may have ended up being somewhat awkward, to be sure, and there probably would have been scratches and abrasions in sensitive areas to boot. But somehow she couldn't help but think it would have been worth it to be able to currently be basking in the afterglow instead of home alone sexually unfulfilled.

Apparently Danny did not share this sentiment as it was he who had somehow possessed the willpower to push her away and to lead them over to the picnic. To be honest she barely remembered the rest of the night, short as it was. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they would calm their racing heartbeats as they ate and then Danny would take her back home. Honestly if he had tried to take her somewhere else after putting the kibosh on the sex then Lindsay would have ended things right there.

To be told that they were waiting for a free 24 hour period was one thing, but then to be expected to focus on something else instead of thinking about all the sex they could fit into that 24 hours? Well that would have been insulting. She would have been furious if Danny had been able to switch his focus off of her, since she couldn't take her mind off of him.

Maybe he wasn't as into her as she was into him? She suddenly wondered. She thought she had presented a pretty tempting picture for him tonight but maybe not. Could it be that his ability to stop them from having sex stemmed more from a desire to avoid it rather than a desire to indulge in it? Was he happy to keep their relationship as it had been? Admittedly earlier he had confessed that he wanted to see what could happen between them but maybe her kiss had killed the fire, instead of stoking it higher?

Well there was only one way to find out. Actually, there were probably more ways but this was the one that involved an orgasm so being that she was still pretty worked up over their date she chose to call Danny to see if he was up—pun fully intended—for another round of phone sex. She already knew what she'd say and he wouldn't know what hit him…after all, she'd been planning this earlier as payback for his non-asking her out. Was it her fault that his subsequent actions added to the need to seek retribution and to possibly flavor their conversation with a different kind of spice?

"Hey I was just about to call ya," Danny said in lieu of a greeting when he picked up.

The confession brought a smile to Lindsay's face and even though she still fully intended on making him pay she decided to indulge in Danny's choice of topic for the moment.

"Oh yeah? And what were you planning on saying?"

"Well I thought I'd start off with the traditional stuff. You know—hello, how are ya? Before I moved on to the main purpose for the call."

"Which was?" She could hear him shifting around and it pleased her to think he was settling in for their conversation.

"To tell you how much I enjoyed our date, and how much more I regret having to stop when we did."

Well that statement certainly went a long way as far as assuring her that Danny had indeed been as in to her as she had hoped.

"Oh? And why do you regret it?"

"As soon as I left you at your place I realized that I was a class-one mook. Who turns down a beautiful woman like that? I shoulda just made ya walk funny tomorrow, damn the consequences."

"Speaking of consequences, Detective…" It really was too perfect an opening for her to pass up, "I have a wet noodle, and I'm not afraid to use it."

For a moment there was silence and then she heard Danny positively guffawing with laughter. She smiled and let him indulge his amusement.

When Danny was finally able to catch his breath he wiped his eyes and asked, "What kind of dirty talk is that, Monroe?"

Sometimes he made it way too easy.

"Oh, you were expecting something more along the lines of, hmm, I don't know…"

She let a beat of silence follow her statement in order to help heighten the sense of anticipation that had begun to build.

"You don't think you deserve any lashes with a wet noodle? Really? Because I think that I'd like to see you in a position where I could spend all the time in the world treating you like the naughty boy you are."

He laughed again but this time it wasn't filled with amusement. She could hear how she was getting him turned on, and when he spoke it bled into his voice even more and Lindsay was very happy to hear it.

"Well well well, seems I'm not the only one with a dominant kink, am I, Miss Monroe?"

"So you've come over so we can watch some porn together," she said and almost giggled when Danny made a choked noise.

"Say what now?" he asked but Lindsay ignored him.

"But when I break out the padded cuffs you think we're just going to skip that part of the evening and I can tell you don't mind. You're a little surprised when I tie you up, not that we've never done it before but it's been long enough that I suppose you think I've lost interest in it. And really, it's a bit insulting that you don't know better. More so that you didn't see this coming. I mean did you really think you were going to be such a tease, end up denying me, and just get away scot free?"

Danny swallowed hard. He should never have kissed her tonight. No, that wasn't right. Of course he should have kissed her. He should have never stopped kissing her, is more like it. Because obviously Lindsay was displeased by the lack of follow-through and fully intended on taking it out on him…he held his breath as he waited for her to continue, praying that whatever she said wasn't going to be something he couldn't see them doing or else he was screwed.

Actually he wouldn't be screwed, ever. And that was just too depressing to contemplate.

"Once I have you tied up," Lindsay went on to say, unaware of Danny's fretting, "I go ahead and let the tape play."

And this was unfair, Danny thought to himself. She would leave him tied up while there was porn playing and he couldn't do anything to her or himself?

"What kind of video do you think I chose?" Lindsay asked and then continued without giving Danny a chance to speak. "Maybe you thought I'd put in your favorite threesome video but tonight it's a new one. This one features a male submissive and his female master."

Lindsay smirked to herself as she heard Danny's strangled attempts to speak. She didn't feel anything but determined about her course of action. There was no hesitation that maybe she shouldn't do this, maybe they weren't ready for what she was doing. He had left her questioning their relationship, questioning her appeal, so she'd be damned if she took it easy on him.

No, best he understood that such behavior was unacceptable, and that he would in fact find himself subjected to some kind of punishment if it ever happened again.

Danny found himself gulping in great quantities of air. This was a new side to Lindsay and damn if her willingness to test his acceptance wasn't hot. Truth be told he'd never been with a woman who really wanted to take the reins. Sure, there was the occasional light spanking and bondage but never a case where she just took control completely and left him no choice whether or not he was going along for the ride.

"You're tied spread-eagle on the bed and just like the woman on screen I spend the next 10 minutes touching, licking and kissing pretty much every part of your body that I want. And speaking of the action on screen guess what the master does? As soon as I lift myself up we look over and can you guess where her fingers go?"

If she could have seen Danny's face she would have cracked up and would have been unable to speak. His eyes were as wide as they could go and he couldn't form a coherent thought. Was she talking about…? He couldn't even bring himself to ask.

"How long has it been since you had your prostate examined?" Lindsay whispered.

_Oh damn_. She _was_ talking about…he thought with a shudder. When she heard Danny's sputtering cough Lindsay did indeed start laughing.

"Oh, Danny, I bet you're wishing you hadn't been such a bad little boy now, aren't you?" she asked with a dirty chuckle that just lit Danny up despite himself. "But maybe part of you is grateful as I climb on top of you and slowly slide down, taking you into me. And I bet an even bigger part of you—the biggest, hardest part of you, actually—is happy when I ride you until we both come."

Danny just groaned in response and Lindsay tutted.

"Mmm, that's not quite the reaction I was hoping for. But thankfully I know how to treat bad little boys like you and so I get you on your hands and knees so I can properly punish you. The first smack echoes for a moment followed by your sharp intake of breath. I give your ass a few more swats, slowly increasing the force but making sure to constantly change location and speed so you won't know where or when the next one is going to land. As the swats get harder you become more vocal for me, telling me how sorry you are, how you'll never do it again, and sometimes all you can do is moan."

"As soon as I'm done with your spanking I reach between your legs and jerk you off, nice and quick. It never takes you long after a punishment and I go get something to eat and drink while you recover. When I come back I rub your poor little red ass, knowing it'll get you hard again to feel that perfect combination of pleasure/pain sparking through you."

_Good goddamn_, Danny thought. It was abundantly clear to him that he should have taken Montana to bed. Before he could get further on that train of thought she kept speaking.

"And when I have you nice and ready I remove the restraints and…" she trailed off and Danny waited, helplessly bound to the hope that she was merely teasing and would in fact continue.

He heard her breathe and was prepared for her to hang up. He was not, however, prepared for what she said next.

"The end."

And then the phone clicked off. Danny stared at it for a long moment before it finally came to him what she had meant. _The end_…as in no more of that fantasy. She was telling him he could not continue it and was practically daring him to try to disobey her. And while he was secure enough in his sexuality to let Lindsay be in charge he wasn't secure enough in his inability to keep from whining like a girl if he let her take charge while she was pissed.

His mama didn't raise no fool.

Lindsay, meanwhile, was feeling positively giddy. She absolutely got off on the power play she had just instigated and while it may be something that remained purely a fantasy at the very least she had shown Danny that she wasn't as vanilla as he might expect. Grinning like the cat that swallowed the cream she quickly brought herself to climax and slipped into sleep, ready for the next day's adventure, whatever it was.

She was still smiling the next day when Danny sought her out.

"So do you think we can maybe meet at O'Malley's tonight?"

Lindsay had been pretty well focused on her work when Danny's words reached her ears and it took her a minute to process what he had said. He wanted to go to a bar? She looked up and it only dawned on her then that he was across the room from her. Securing her tools she eyed him with interest and sauntered over to his side, leaning up to his ear.

"You know, I really don't need alcohol to get in the mood to be with you," she purred, and he clenched his fists to ensure that he didn't haul her into his arms.

"And I can't tell you how much I don't need anything but you to get me going, Montana," he drawled, twisting to face her. "However, I am thinkin' about you, and I was merely tryin' to suggest somewhere public for us to meet."

"Somewhere public?" she grinned and leaned back against the workstation. "Do I need to fear for my safety when I'm with you, Detective Messer?"

"No, I need to fear for my sanity, Miss Monroe...it's killin' me not to touch you, and we need to stay in public if I'm gonna have any chance of showing restraint."

Oh, she liked the sound of that. Knowing he wanted her was quite the aphrodisiac. She blushed but quirked an eyebrow and he peered down at her and smirked.

"Of course, I got no objections to moving past the whole date thing and gettin' to the part of the evening where I have you in my arms and you're makin' all those hot little noises you make when I touch you," he murmured, "but I want to show you a good time, too."

And he did. He shook his head at the novelty of that notion, and decided he must still be feeling a bit of the residual shock that still laced his system after his bout of self-reflection last night.

He had been lying awake in his bed, tossing and turning and thinking about Lindsay, as per usual, when it occurred to him that maybe she was so good at this whole phone sex thing with him because she had done it with someone else before.

It was admittedly late in the game for him to be just now having the thought, but before he'd been thankfully occupied with enjoying the sessions rather than analyzing their source.

But now that the thought entered his brain he couldn't shake it, or the sick feeling of jealousy that followed swiftly on its heels.

He only tried to deny it for a moment, the scientist in him recognizing how the data led to the inevitable conclusion.

It was typical of him to have bailed long before a relationship got to this point, and so he was understandably shaken to discover himself already past the point of no return so quickly.

Although really, his inner voice piped up, was it that rapid a development? It's not as though she were a one night stand. They were co-workers, then friends, then whatever the hell they were before they kissed, and now they were…

What the hell were they?

He felt like such a girl for devoting even a minute to the thought of labeling their relationship, but was unable to shake it.

His stomach clenched as he recognized that the motivation behind these thoughts was a desire to be in a relationship with Lindsay.

A real relationship, with everything that entailed.

He wanted Lindsay to be his own with a possessiveness that shook him to his core.

It was enough to chase away sleep for the remainder of the night.

So now as he stood before her, asking her to meet him at O'Malley's, he fought the urge to ask her to clarify where they stood with one another.

* * *

End of chapter


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